Trolls doll removed after outcry over 'inappropriate' button placement

US toy company Hasbro is removing its Trolls doll from stores after a public outcry over an inappropriately placed button that some parents believe “sexualises” the doll.

The company announced its decision to discontinue the doll after an online petition received more than 490,000 signatures.

In a viral video, US mom Jessica McManis said she she found the doll inappropriate after her two-year-old daughter received one as a birthday gift.

The doll has one button on its stomach, which is advertised on the packaging, and another between her legs.

On the back of the box, it states if you press the button on the stomach, the doll will say 10 phrases and sounds.

However, there is no mention of the button under the doll’s skirt and placed on the “private area”, McManis said on the video.

When pressing the second button, the doll gasps and makes sounds like “whee” and “oh”, which McManis described as a “sexualising a children’s toy”.

The video she posted, which was circulated on social media, sparked an online petition to pull the doll from store shelves.

“This toy needs to be removed from our stores,” read the petition. “What will this toy make our innocent, impressionable children think? That it’s fun when someone touches your private area? That paedophilia and child molestation are OK? It’s not OK! It’s not fun!”

In a statement shared by CBS News, Hasbro said the doll would be removed from all major retailers.

The company said the doll was designed to making a laughing sound, “but we recognise the placement of the sensor may be perceived as inappropriate”.

“This was not intentional and we are happy to provide consumers with a replacement Poppy doll of similar value through our consumer care team.”