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Mom Files Obscenity Complaint
Against Austin Powers Doll

A T L A N T A, June 22 — Move over Dr. Evil, British superspy Austin Powers has a real-life nemesis—a suburban Atlanta mom out to stop toy makers from selling a doll that ask: “Do I make you horny, baby? Do I?”
     The underwear-clad dolls with gorilla-like chest hair repeat lines from the Mike Myers comedy, “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.” The “horny” quote particularly peeved Tamatha Brannon of East Point, a suburb of Atlanta.
     “I can’t believe this toy is approved for ages 10 and up: It’s perverted,” she said Tuesday.
     Ms. Brannon grew upset when her 11-year-old son picked a doll up in a Toys “R” Us last week and pestered her about what “horny” meant. The doll doesn’t speak unless you take it out of the package, but the quotation is written on the box.
     “I’m appalled. I’m sick,” she said. “I want Toys “R” Us to take every one of those disgusting dolls off their shelves so no parent ever has to go through what I’ve just gone through.”

Adult Version
     McFarlane Toys, which manufactures the doll, said the adult version of the doll is only available at record stores and novelty shops that cater to an older audience and should never have been sent to Toys “R” Us.
     The company also makes a fully clothed Powers doll with “softer” quotes from the film, which is rated PG-13, said president and CEO Todd McFarlane.
     “Given that we ship millions of toys all over the world, it’s certainly possible one case ended up to the left or to the right of where it should have been,” McFarlane said from his Tempe, Ariz., office.
     Officials at Toys “R” Us headquarters in Paramus, N.J., were also surprised to hear that the adult version ended up on its shelves.
     “We bought the version that does not say those things,” said Rebecca Caruso, a company spokeswoman. Toys “R” Us stores throughout the nation were asked Tuesday to pull any of the “horny” dolls from the shelves.
     Ms. Caruso said only the Atlanta-area store had the shirtless doll, while most others had McFarlane’s “softer” version.
     But that version isn’t exactly child-friendly. Among its expressions: “Would you fancy a shag?” Shag is a British obscenity for sex.

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