WTF: Lego Erases Law Enforcement from Playsets

  |  
Jun 8, 2020

The Toy Book reported that LEGO Group is taking down a number of playsets featuring law enforcement figures.

The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police kicked off massive protests throughout the country, and now the private sector is joining in on the virtue signaling craze.

The toy industry trade magazine received a copy of an email that was sent to “affiliate marketers by Rakuten Linkshare on behalf of the LEGO Group.”

James Zahn of Legos noted the following:

The email requests removal of product listings and features for more than 30 LEGO building sets, Minifigures, and accessories that include representation of police officers, firefighters, criminals, emergency vehicles, and buildings. Sets include the LEGO City Police Station, Fire Station, Police Dog Unit, Patrol Car, Fire Plane, Mobile Command Center, Police Highway Arrest, and many more. Even the LEGO City Donut Shop Opening set — which includes Police Officer “Duke DeTain” and “Crook” Minifigures — roleplay items including a Police Handcuffs & Badge Set, and the adult builder LEGO Creator version of The White House made the removal list.

LEGO responded to the Toy Book after being contacted by them about the situation:

We requested that our affiliate partners refrain from posting promotional LEGO content as part of our decision to respect #BlackOutTuesday and pause posting content on our social media channels in response to the tragic events in the US. We regret any misunderstanding and will ensure that we are clearer about our intentions in the future.

On June 3, 2020, LEGO posted a message on its social platforms on June 3. LEGO saying that it “will donate $4 million to organizations dedicated to supporting black children and educating all children about racial equality.”

Traditionally speaking, the LEGO City theme has been one of LEGO’s bestselling categories, and law enforcement has been a mainstay. Police have generally been central pieces of LEGO storytelling for toys, games, and animation for years.

Zahn concluded:

There are no plans to discontinue these sets or to pull any product from shelves despite affiliates being asked not to actively market them. The company took to social networks to post an additional statement of clarification for consumers.

Brad Parscale, the Campaign Manager for President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election effort, pushed back against this news.

He tweeted, “This is nuts.@LEGO_Group is removing playsets featuring police, firefighters & emergency vehicles. Even ditching an adult White House kit. We ought to stress the good in law enforcement for kids. What does @JoeBiden think about LEGO erasing cops?”

LEGO is just the latest company bowing down to political correctness.

America is at a turning point where its culture has been so thoroughly infected by political correctness that it may no longer be able to function as a cohesive nation.

Our Latest Articles