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‘Breaking Bad’ Star Sounds Off About Toys R Us Move

Oct 24, 2014  •  Post A Comment

After Toys R Us pulled a line of “Breaking Bad” action figures off its shelves, Aaron Paul, one of the stars of the AMC drama series, is letting the toy retailer hear about it, ABC News reports.

The store chain said it was putting the toy line on an “indefinite sabbatical” after a Florida mom led a petition drive to get the toys removed from the stores. The petition reportedly has gathered more than 9,000 signatures.

Paul, an Emmy winner for his role as Jesse Pinkman on the show, took to Twitter Thursday to sound off about both the petition and the retail giant.

Paul tweeted: “Wait, so @ToysRUs pulled all of the Breaking Bad figures from their shelves and still sells Barbie? Hmmmm…I wonder what is more damaging? And what about all of the violent video games you sell @ToysRUs ? Do you still sell those? Florida mom really messed it up for everyone.”

ABC News reports: “The mother he’s referring to is Susan Schrivjer, who argued in a Change.org petition that the action figures were ‘a dangerous deviation’ from the toy store’s ‘family friendly values.’ The figures of drug dealers Pinkman and Walter White, Bryan Cranston’s character, come with a detachable bag of cash and a bag of methamphetamines.”

The report quotes the petition saying: “While the show may be compelling viewing for adults, its violent content and celebration of the drug trade make this collection unsuitable to be sold alongside Barbie dolls and Disney characters. Parents and grandparents around the world shop at Toys R Us, online and in stories, with their children and should not be forced to explain why a certain toy comes with a bag of highly dangerous and illegal drugs or why someone who sells those drugs deserves to be made into an action figure.”

The action figures reportedly are priced at $17.99 retail and come labeled “Ages 15+.”

“Paul, 35, tweeted a new Change.org petition that called on Toys R Us to keep selling the action figures, which are manufactured by Toys R Us and Sony Pictures Television, a production company behind the show,” the report adds.

Paul reportedly said on Twitter: “This would be so fun to show the Florida mom,” then added a Jesse Pinkman catchphrase, “Yeah B****.”

The story reports that Paul’s petition has accumulated more than 30,000 signatures. Earlier today the actor reportedly tweeted: “Dear @ToysRUs, We have close to 30,000 signed on the petition, that is 3 times the amount that caused you to remove the toys. Talk to me.”

breaking-bad-toys

Walter White action figures

4 Comments

  1. Sorry Aaron Paul, while I really enjoyed the show and your enormous acting talents, I don’t think the career of a meth dealer should be glorified in a toy store. That just makes young, impressionable kids think that it’s ok…..must be ok….adults are manufacturing toys celebrating meth dealers. Aaron, make your residuals from your work, not telling kids it must be ok to use and sell drugs.

    • You, my uninformed friend, are full of s**t to complain about these “action figures.” Kids don’t buy them, kids don’t even know THE SHOW EXISTS for christ sake.

      Use your worrying time to do something positive, rather than tilting at windmills such as such a great show as Breaking Bad. You are pitiful to the extreme.

  2. Yo players, clam down. They’re toys.

    We all know no one really cares either way. They’re both perpetuating this drama. Funny the figures come with a bag of drugs/guns. Shouldn’t the choice of purchasing these toys be an option for anyone without some sort of corporate store filtering that choice on behalf of some conservative parental morals?

    I’m sick of options being removed from society. Seems like everything is controlled. That’s not what this country was founded on. Freedom of choice! The toys are tacky at best. Not a gift for children. But why pull them unless it’s some sort of political motive?

  3. The real crime here is that someone in licensing at SONY can’t think up a better brand extension for Breaking Bad than collectible action figures and a better sales channel than Toys R Us. It seems like its less about creating a marketable franchise extension; more like someone’s idea of a humorous way to create a cheap controversy and keep Breaking Bad relevant in the market.

    Now if they had developed a “Walter White” chemistry set, THAT would have been funny.

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