Aaron Paul Slams Toys R Us for Pulling 'Breaking Bad' Toys
A Florida mother successfully petitioned for the store to remove the dolls.
-- Just days after Toys R Us announced it was putting "Breaking Bad" action figures on an "indefinite sabbatical" from its stores, Aaron Paul tweeted support for a petition to put the toys back on the shelves.
Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman on the AMC drama, on Thursday mocked the initial petition, launched by a Florida mom and now with more than 9,000 signatures, that led to the decision by Toys R Us.
"Wait, so @ToysRUs pulled all of the Breaking Bad figures from their shelves and still sells Barbie? Hmmmm...I wonder what is more damaging?" the Emmy winner tweeted. "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."
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.
"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," the petition reads. "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."
First, the toy store said that the dolls, which retail for $17.99 and are marked with an "Ages 15+" tag, were "carried in very little quantities in the adult action figure section of our stores," according to the BBC. Then, the toys were pulled from shelves completely. (There are other "Breaking Bad" action figures sold at retailers including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.)
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.
"This would be so fun to show the Florida mom," he wrote, before adding his character's catchphrase, "Yeah B****."
The new petition has more than 30,000 signatures.
"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," Paul concluded earlier today.
Earlier this week, Cranston joked on Twitter, "'Florida mom petitions against Toys 'R Us over Breaking Bad action figures.' I'm so mad, I'm burning my Florida Mom action figure in protest."
Following Toys R Us' announcement, he wrote, "Toys R Us puts Breaking Bad toys on 'indefinite sabbatical.' Word on the street is that they were sent to Belize. Nicely played Florida Mom."
Spokespeople for Toys R Us and Sony Television had no comment.