Kimberly, an Australian mother from Victoria, remained shocked when she discovered a ‘racist’ toy in the Kinder surprise chocolate egg from her 15-month-old son Alexander.
In that egg is often a toy that children can put together.
When she opened the chocolate egg, she noticed that the toy held balloons with the letters ‘KKK’, the initials of the Ku Klux Klan, a number of different secret white organizations in the United States that were mainly known for their racist violence.
Kimberley said that she laughed at first a bit shocked, but then she quickly realized the serious consequences it could have.
Alexander himself is too young to realize what those letters mean on the toy. But his mother Kimberley raises the question whether it could not be prevent. “That is something that everyone could have seen,” said the woman. “Almost nothing else can be say about it, because the initials of Kinder surprise are not even ‘KKK’”. The woman also notes that everyone still knows the KKK to this day. “It raises questions about what the company supports and whether this is marketing,” says Kimberley.
Another customer, Ivca Lipenska, from the Czech Brno also noticed the toys and shared it on Facebook: “KKK … held by white egg … well done Kinder surprise.”
From the racks
Kimberley contacted Kinder. She was inform that the toys, which were part of a limited edition for Children’s 50th birthday, were removed from the shelves and that the remaining eggs were no longer distributed to the stores. According to Kinder, the toy first held one balloon with the K on it. Afterwards, two balloons were added.
“We sincerely apologize for any annoyance caused by the three K’s on the toy,” said a spokesman for the parent company Ferrero Rocher.
Association
“We were absolutely not planning to associate with the Ku Klux Klan and we really apologize to our consumers. We do not support that organization in any way. The K on the balloons was only meant to represent kids,” said the spokesperson.
“We make sure that such a thing cannot happen anymore. Besides, any consumer who has received the toy in question can contact us to replace it with something else.”
