A woman says that a children's toy purchased for her son at Walmart makes references to a drive-by shooting and papal abuse.
In a TikTok posted on Dec. 25, Ashley Lynn (@mommabearash) shows a toy remote that she says her grandmother gave her 9-month-old son for Christmas. Lynn demonstrates that when buttons are pushed on the remote, a voice tells jokes, some of which she finds offensive.
"You'll never guess what makes a clip clop, clip clop, bang, bang, clip clop, clip clop, clip clop noise," a voice from the remote says when Lynn presses a button. "An Amish drive-by shooting."
Another joke makes light of Catholic priests and sexual abuse.
"How many Catholic priests are required to screw a lightbulb into its socket?" the voice asks. "Two: One to do the screwing and one to hear the confession." The Catholic church has struggled with allegations papal abuse of underage parishioners—which Pope Francis called a "monstrosity"—for decades.
In the caption of Lynn's video, which got almost 15 million views, she says she's "not happy."
"A kids' toy—there's a baby on the box."
The remote, the LINSAY 1.5-volt Electronic Educational Toy, is made by Linsay, an international company that makes a wide array of electronics.
In a follow-up video, Lynn shows the remotes box which says that the toy is "helpful for the baby to learn cultural knowledge and play." She also demonstrates another joke, allegedly from the toy, that states that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny "don't exist"—which she didn't want her kids to hear.
In an email statement from Linsay, the company's review team told the Daily Dot that the toy is "retired" and there is an "open investigation." Linsay said it's also looking into whether the toy, which was recalled after only selling 27 units, can be reprogrammed.
Linsay added that the toy is intended to play numbers, songs, and the alphabet.
A spokesperson for Walmart said in a statement to the Daily Dot that the toy was sold on its website via a third-party vendor. But the spokesperson said the toy violated Walmart policy and has now been removed from the retail giant's website.
While the product is no longer on Linsay or Walmart's websites, it is still for sale on Lowe's.com where reviews reference Lynn's videos. Some reviews say that Lynn is spreading "misinformation" and that in their experience, the toy has said "nothing inappropriate."
