George Floyd protests: LEGO pledges $4M to combat racism, says it hasn't removed 'police sets' from sale
George Floyd's tragic death has sparked massive protests all across the United States and several celebrities have raised their voice against police brutality and lent support to #BlackLivesMatter. Amid the ruckus, the LEGO Group has asked retailers to stop marketing sets involving police officers. Moreover, the company will donate $4 million to organizations that are dedicated to combating racism.
In an exclusive statement to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), a spokesperson from LEGO said, "Our mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow, and that includes inspiring them to be tolerant, inclusive and kind. There is more to do and as one small step, we are donating US$4 million to organizations in the United States dedicated to organizations that support black children and others that educate all children about tolerance and racial equality."
Earlier, The Toy Book shared a copy of an email sent to affiliate marketers by Rakuten Linkshare on behalf of the LEGO Group. The report further read, "The email requests removal of product listings and features for more than 30 LEGO building sets, Minifigures, and accessories that include representation of police officers, firefighters, criminals, emergency vehicles, and buildings."
Clarifying that the company is "not removing any products from sale", the spokesperson told MEAWW, "We would like to clarify that we have not removed any sets from sale. The misunderstanding is the result of an email that was sent on our behalf to members of our affiliate marketing programme."
The statement further reads, "The intent of the email was to ask that they pause promoting and marketing a selection of LEGO products on their sites. We paused all marketing across our own social channels earlier this week in response to the tragic events in the US. We regret any misunderstanding and will be clearer about our intentions in the future."
Not just that, LEGO had posted a statement on its official Twitter account saying, "We stand with the black community against racism and inequality. There is much to do. We will donate $4 million to organizations dedicated to supporting black children and educating all children about racial equality."
No sooner did they post it on Twitter, a string of tweets started doing the rounds with people hailing the Danish toy production company with the belief that some sets were being pulled off markets from sale.
"HOLY S**T LEGO DONATED 4 MILLION TO BLACK CHARITIES AND THEY PULLED ALL LEGO POLICE SETS FROM THE SHELVES," one tweet read and another said, "Racists are so pissed off about this move by LEGO, but it just makes me love LEGO more. And I'm one of those people that buys $300-$400 LEGO sets."
"Lego instead of doing a long-winded speech like most brands do and doing very little gave a tiny speech and donated 4 million to help black children and removed product listings and future releases of over 30 sets with police in it. The absolute kings holy frick," one Twitter user posted and another said, "#LEGO is donating four million dollars to organizations supporting black children AND are pulling police sets from stores."
One social media user even went on to say: "If I was president and heard that Lego stopped releasing White House sets because of me I'd f**king cry." Another enraged Twitter user, however, demanded a 'Parks and Recreation' set and said, "Since you're gonna dive right into politics after spending 60+ years avoiding it, do you think we can finally get a Parks and Recreation set? Your "the show is too political for our brand" excuse doesn't hold up anymore."
According to The Toy Book report, the LEGO Store on Fifth Ave. in the Flatiron District of New York City was looted on June 1 along with several other stores and photos of the bare shelves did the rounds on Instagram.
This story has been updated with an exclusive statement from the LEGO Group