Bratz, the popular toy brand, described celebrity Kylie Jenner as the embodiment of what its dolls have stood for since their debut over two decades ago, calling her “disruptive and rebellious to energetic and expressive.”
But for some fans of the toy brand, the new Jenner doll — which launched Tuesday — does not represent the doll they grew up with.
Jenner has been compared to a Bratz doll for years by her fans and her own family. The newly launched collection includes six minidolls inspired by some of her iconic red carpet looks.
There were some who praised the doll in comments announcing the news on TikTok and Instagram. However a large number of fans also expressed their disappointment that the first celebrity Bratz doll was a white woman because of the toy’s significance among Black girls and other girls of color. The fact that Jenner has been accused of cultural appropriation and blackfishing in the past added insult to injury for many Bratz lovers.
“Giving Kylie (a white woman who modeled her face/body around Black women) her own Bratz doll (which is an arguably more Urban/Black presenting doll) before an ACTUAL Black woman is … weird,” one person wrote on X.
“first collab being with a white woman when bratz dolls were heavily inspired by women of color … ,” another user posted.
A spokesperson for Bratz declined to comment on the social media reactions to the collaboration. A representative for Jenner also declined to comment.
Some users on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, pointed out that Bratz dolls — which were introduced by MGA Entertainment in 2001 — are often celebrated for popularizing and normalizing non-Eurocentric beauty in the mainstream. While the Bratz were created with some ethnic ambiguity, many nonwhite young women saw themselves in the dolls, which were often seen as more diverse than…
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