The new Bratz collaboration with Kylie Jenner has upset the doll line’s devoted fans.
On Aug. 1, MGA Entertainment, the company that manufactures Bratz, released its first-ever celebrity Bratz doll collection featuring six different versions of the doll meant to look like Kylie Jenner.
The mini figurines sport looks that Jenner has worn over the years, including her 2019 and 2022 Met Gala outfits. Mattel’s Barbie takes a similar approach, turning celebrities into dolls sporting miniature versions of their most famous outfits.
In a press release, Bratz creative director Jasmin Larian revealed the reasoning behind the choice.
“Kylie truly embodies everything Bratz has stood for since its inception 22 years ago — from being disruptive and rebellious to energetic and expressive,” Larian said. “Not only will this collaboration expand to Kylie’s millions of fans, but it will also reach the audiences that grew up with Bratz and are excited to relive the Y2K Bratz lifestyle today. We couldn’t be prouder to welcome Kylie into the Bratz family.”
But some longtime Bratz fans see this move as more of a snub to the doll’s legacy than an homage to a celebrity. Jenner and her sisters, who are white women, have been criticized for appropriating Black beauty standards, whereas the dolls celebrated them.
Introduced in 2001 as an alternative to Barbie, the dolls were came with cell phones … and an edge. With their pouty lips, dramatic makeup and small waists, they also model the Instagram fashion that Jenner and her sisters are famous for.
Kendall Jenner once said her sister Kylie Jenner looked like a Bratz doll — and for these fans, that’s the problem. Bratz fans who saw themselves reflected in Bratz dolls more than they did in the Barbie alternative perceive this move as further proof of the Kardashian-Jenners’ appropriation of Black culture.
“Giving Kylie (a white woman who modeled her face/body around Black women) her own Bratz doll (which is an arguably…
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