Popular build-it-yourself children’s teddy bear store "Build-a-Bear Workshop" is turning heads with its new drag queen teddy bear.
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh pointed out on Twitter, Thursday, that "Build-a-Bear Workshop," the toy store where kids – and adults apparently – can customize their own stuffed animals, had advertised a new drag queen teddy bear.
Sharing a screenshot of the website depicting the new drag product, Walsh tweeted, "Remember: there’s absolutely no agenda to groom your kids. Don’t be ridiculous. On an unrelated note, @buildabear is selling a drag queen stuffed bear for children."
As the image indicated, the toy – a brown bear in a gold dress with curly platinum blonde hair and lots of eye make-up – was a "RuPaul Bear," pre-customized in drag to honor popular drag-themed reality show "RuPaul’s Drag Race."
A quick internet search for the "RuPaul Bear" confirmed its existence on the Build-a-Bear’s website, though it is located online in the store’s "Bear Cave," an adult-centric section – and not in the physical store.
The website described the drag queen bear with some drag community colloquialisms in honor of the show’s star host, drag queen RuPaul.
The website stated, "’Cover BEAR! Put the fur in your walk. Head to paw, let your whole body talk.’ She done already done had herses—and now you can have yourses with your very own RuPaul Bear! Two iconic pop culture institutions join forces for this one-of-a-kind collector's item made in tribute to the world's most famous drag queen."
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The drag teddy bear was listed at $56 and could come as part of a gift set for $8 more, which included some "Online Exclusive Gold Strap Heels" to put on the bear.
On Twitter, Walsh rebutted critics who claimed that the company wasn’t advertising the drag queen product to kids, alleging that the "RuPaul Bear" was being advertised on the main page of Build-A-Bear’s child-friendly online store.
He tweeted, "I'm told that the bear is sold in a section of the site that's ‘intended for 18+ shoppers.’ Except that they have the drag bear right on the front page, front and center, alongside the Easter merchandise."
Walsh’s original screenshot showed the drag bear on the Build-A-Bear website’s prominent product listing, next to Easter-themed Build-A-Bear products.
Currently, the website does not have the RuPaul Bear in the same ad bar, though an icon for the company’s "After Dark Gifts for Adults" can be found there instead, making adult toys one of the first promoted toy lines on Build-A-Bear’s website right now.
RuPaul himself posted an unboxing video with the new Build-a-Bear product on Instagram on Wednesday, reveling in the stuffed animal’s gold dress and curly hair. "Oh my gosh! Gorgeous!" the drag queen exclaimed. "This is so great! I feel like a proud parent!"
