Bluey image stuns thousands of parents: ‘Totally inappropriate and vile’
A collection of stickers sold online depicting Bluey characters in army camouflage and armed with guns has sparked a backlash online.
The stickers show Bluey driving a ute while her younger sister sits on heavy weapons in the back.
Other stickers depict Bluey’s parents, Bandit and Chilli, as well as her grandfather Mort, in army uniforms, all holding guns.
The stickers, designed by ‘We Few’, were sold on the online sticker marketplace Valor Vinyls.
The widespread online backlash prompted Valor Vinyls to quickly remove the designs from its website on Tuesday.
“It’s completely inappropriate and despicable to use children’s TV characters in this way,” said one Aussie.
“Gun culture should not be normalized or glorified for children.”
“I don’t care if I become a Karen or whatever, this is horrible,” said a second.
An Australian artist and online retailer has been criticized for selling stickers depicting the family from beloved children’s show Bluey, carrying weapons and wearing tactical gear (pictured)
A third said that even if it was meant as a joke, it “still sucks and isn’t funny at all.”
This isn’t the first time We Few has faced controversy over its designs.
A shirt manufacturer once stopped production of one of his designs, in which Bert and Ernie tortured Oscar the Grouch, with the words ‘W is for Waterboarding;’.
“The company that printed our designs has decided that waterboarding child characters is a bit too violent for them and they no longer want to provide this service,” the designer said.
A number of Australians said the design went against the wholesome nature of the show and glorified ‘gun culture’ towards children.
The artist behind the design previously had a manufacturer refuse to print his shirt with the torture of a character from Sesame Street (photo)
Although that designer’s work has been removed from Valor Vinyl’s website, a number of other controversial products remain available for $8 each.
This includes the chocolate mascot Freddo Frog holding a light machine gun and wearing a shirt that says ‘f**k off’ while holding up the middle finger.
Another mascot on the website is the Caramello Koala, who wears a shirt that says ‘thug’ and wields two submachine guns.