Pro Tip: If you want people to continue buying your products, it's probably a bad idea to throw a racist tantrum on Twitter.
Bratz and LOL Surprise dolls have been wildly popular for years, not only among children but also collectors and young adults. Both doll lines take their cues from pop culture and subcultures to keep their lines fresh and fun.
Artist Amina Mucciolo—popularly known as Tasselfairy—believes the LOL Surprise line took their "cultural cue" idea too far and created a doll designed after her without her consent or credit. She's got some compelling evidence.
When she went public with the accusation, however, the company's billionaire CEO Isaac Larian handled it poorly.
Very, very poorly.
So poorly, in fact, that many people don't even think it matters whether or not the company purposefully stole Amina's image. In the court of public opinion, LOL Surprise dolls have already lost.
He got on Twitter and publicly called her a disgrace to Black people and the BLM movement.
He then told her he "will no longer be nice" and threatened to sue her for multiple things. Breaking News: The Definition of "Nice" Has Evidently Changed.
He deleted the tweets, but hey screenshots are forever.
Isaac Larian / Twitter Screenshot
We know, a racist tirade doesn't seem like the sort of response that even makes sense contextually when it comes to talking about dolls, but here's a little sumthin' sumthin' you might not know about artists and influencers of color—they deal with a lot of blatant corporate racism.
Over and over again companies collaborate with White artists, but steal and repackage from artists of color without giving them any credit, pay or even acknowledgment. Artists of color are paid less for the same work. Large companies blatantly take art, use it and then shrug or backpedal with excuses when they are called out.
Amina herself has been through it before.
In October of 2019 she even ended up "evicted because of Lisa Frank." She accused them of stealing her apartment design, which featured widely in her work, for their hotel rooms. The images side by side are incredibly damning, Amina's apartment was designed in 2017 and had been featured in almost all of her work since then, and while the company collaborated with White artists on designs, she says they outright stole from her.
Millions of people agree with her, but so far all Amina got was evicted. Her landlord refused to take her payment and told her that she needed to vacate her apartment before the launch of the Lisa Frank Hotel, which happened to be in her development.
On the heels of what many believe was blatant corporate theft and racism, Amina found herself getting new messages from people saying LOL Surprise made her into a doll.
Except, as far as she knew, they didn't.
"The first thing I noticed was the exact replica of a hairstyle I did to celebrate my 35th birthday. It was aqua with rainbow highlights, and it was shocking because the hairstyle was the result of my imagination and leftover hair I had from the previous style I wore."
"I didn't have a visual reference [to copy] or anything, so it was disturbing to see something that came straight from my mind, to be duplicated on a toy that I had no part in creating."
She wore that hairstyle from November 2018 through to about mid-February 2019.
In April of 2019, LOL Surprise contacted Amina to be a guest on their YouTube channel to talk about kid's interior design. The doll, called Rainbow Raver, was released in June 2019, so well after Amina had worn the unique look and worked directly with the company.
Not only did she work with them, but she did so at their request; establishing that they had been watching her previously and knew exactly who she was.
She attempted to contact the company, but says she was ignored so she went public.
View this post on Instagram***UPDATE*** Hi Friends, I made a post calling out L.O.L Surprise's apparent misappropriation of my likeness on 6/7/20. Today I am here to report that the post was removed by @Instagram. #lolsurprise went around social media filing BS copyright claims regarding the photos I used for the doll to try to silence me, when what I did obviously falls under fair use. But that's OK I have my own doll, and I took a picture myself 🤬. I'm sharing this again, because I refuse to be silenced by them or anyone else! Since our original post, MGA Ent (their parent company) made a very aggressive attempt to contact us, and then within the hour (before we had a chance to respond) began spreading lies about me and my motivation in bringing this issue to light. Given that they've shown us no reason to trust them, I decided that it would be a bad idea to engage them without a lawyer. We are currently in the process of hiring one now. If you would like to know how to help or support us, hit the link in my bio. PLEASE SHARE THIS STORY **ORIGINAL POST** (This is an entirely separate incident from the Lisa Frank situation.) L.O.L. Surprise created a doll based on my entire image and identity without my permission. And I haven't received any acknowledgment or compensation from them in any way. In fact, they are straight up ignoring me. Here are the facts; 1) I wore my hair like this and shared the photos on social media from Nov 2018 to Feb 2019. 2) In April 2019 LOL surprise reached out to me and hired me to be a guest on their YouTube channel for a kids interior design show. 3) Then in July of 2019 they released the Rainbow Raver" doll as a part of their “Hair Goals" collection and it looks exactly like me. 4) I found out about this because I started to receive messages asking me if I knew about the doll, and its striking resemblance to me and my unique hair and outfits. SWIPE TO READ THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL POST
A post shared by Amina Mucciolo (@studiomucci) on Jun 18, 2020 at 4:38pm PDT
LOL Surprise responded with their own timeline, claiming the doll had been approved for production in September 2018, which would have been two months before Amina rocked the distinctive hairstyle.
However no evidence has yet been made public.
View this post on InstagramWe've seen the allegations and take this seriously. We apologize for the delay but felt it was important to review the timeline and facts internally. Rainbow Raver was designed by one of our talented black creators who confirmed the doll was not based on Amina Mucciolo. While we understand the similarities, we respectfully ask you to take a moment as we share our design timeline.⠀ ⠀ We have tried to contact Studio Mucci to share our chronological production timeline with her.⠀ ⠀ Summer 2018 – Rainbow Raver developed. ⠀ September 2018 – Rainbow Raver confirmed for production.⠀ November 2018 – Ms. Mucciolo posted on IG.⠀ April 2019 – Ms. Mucciolo participates in LOL Surprise video.* ⠀ May 2019 – LOL Surprise video goes live online.* ⠀ June 2019 – Rainbow Raver launched at retail.⠀ June 2020 – Ms. Mucciolo shares post on IG.⠀ ⠀ Our colorful and creative team is inspired by trends in pop culture. Rainbow Raver was designed after music festival fashions. We deeply respect the artistic and creative community and would not take from a creator in the way suggested. MGA works tirelessly to protect our own intellectual property against that behavior.⠀ ⠀ We will continue to always be honest and open with our community.⠀ ⠀ *Updated per fan questions following initial post.⠀
A post shared by L.O.L. Surprise! (@lolsurprise) on Jun 10, 2020 at 2:41pm PDT
Social media argued back and forth for a while.
Then Larian had LOL complain to her platforms that her sharing a picture of the doll violated DMCA and all of her posts with evidence were removed. So Amina had to go and spend her own money to buy the doll herself so that she could post pictures of the doll she owned as a workaround so that the company could no longer have her posts removed.
Amina again posted about the issue.
Sharing this again because I refused to be silenced! #lolsurprise #mgaent used my likeness to make this doll without my permission. pic.twitter.com/hiB7WOyIlK
— Amina Mucciolo (@StudioMucci) June 19, 2020
That is when Larian went off.
Not only did he drop the gem we showed you previously, he made it a point to comment on Amina's posts, telling her he was going to make her social media disappear.
He repeatedly demanded she publicly post the name and phone number of her lawyer. He called her more names and attacked her followers.
Ms. Mucciolo says seeing his response left her stunned.
"He is someone who doesn't even know me or anything about me. Yet he called me a failure and a fraud and a disgrace to Black people. All of this because I dared to stand up for myself. It was way over the line and it was extremely hurtful."
At this point, however believable or plausible LOL's story was, people no longer cared.
The founder and CEO had gone out of his way to personally attack her in a way people felt was vile.
Twitter didn't hold back.
I am DISGUSTED at how the CEO of MGA Entertainment responded to this tweet by my friend Amina. Never supporting his work again #LOLSurprise #LittleTikes #PoopsieSlimeSurprise #NumNoms #ProjectMc2 #Lalaloopsy #Bratz #Popohair Very unprofessional. SHAME. https://t.co/HhtuzUFHac
— Cupquake ✨ (@iHasCupquake) June 19, 2020
i worked for you for a few months back in january and the times we met you glared at me, ignored me, and refused to use my name. it was only when my coworkers told me that you actually just hated black people it became glaringly obvious what a racist prick you were.
— gabrielle (@fridakahoe) June 19, 2020
This is @isaaclarian CEO and founder of @MGAEnt creator of the #Bratz #LOLSurprise #LittleTikes #NumNoms #PoopieSlimeSurprise #ProjectMC2 #LalaLoopsy & #PopoHair toy lines. His company used @StudioMucci's likeness without pay for a @LOLsurpriseDoll & now hes harassing her online. pic.twitter.com/j7XQkD7JHl
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) June 20, 2020
I encourage a boycott of all of @isaaclarian's @MGAEnt's properties indefiently. He needs to run @StudioMucci her check and that shitty notes app “can't even call it an apology" he put out isn't it.
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) June 20, 2020
It actually doesn't even matter at this point whether Amina's claims are even right or not. /You/ calling her a "disgrace to Black people" over some petty shit like this as if you have any business over the Black community and our affairs is SO fucked up.
— ✨ BLM ✨ (@OneAudDuck) June 19, 2020
Yeah the fact that @isaaclarian named the designer along with the words "you are dumb", means he's lying. Seen this kind of wording before it's when someone who is caught in a lie but their brain can't think of anything better to say pic.twitter.com/OMMRnxqcqn
— Emmajg (@emmajg) June 20, 2020
so my mother and the production company she worked for had the great pleasure of being unsuccessfully sued by isaac larian (creator of bratz and lolsurprise) over a decade ago. he's a litigious piece of shit and you should fight him as long and as loud as is necessary.
— 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔪 @ ßLM / ACAß (@renaissancegoth) June 19, 2020
@MGAEnt's founder @isaaclarian is bullying and shaming a Black creator for seeking compensation for a product that appears heavily based off of her likeness. This is incredibly cruel and unprofessional. pic.twitter.com/cxaC6Mg4N7
— Kieran 🐐 (@Smatterbrain) June 19, 2020
Also let's add to the timeline the fact that LOL surprise hired her for a job and was following her on social media. They knew who she was. He is purposely leaving out all other examples of knowing about her likeness. #teamAmina
— Katie Jo (@katiejoz) June 20, 2020
A) it looks exactly like her. Down to the exact braid shades.
B) the timeline you have provided us is absolute nonsense. she has had this look for YEARS, and this particular hairstyle at least 7 months before the doll was released
— Big Cox Energy (@tracycox) June 20, 2020
this is cute n all but are we gonna address how the founder of bratz isaac larian is a racist and how MGAent stole @StudioMucci s likeness to create a doll without her permission? https://t.co/0WooVjtVwj
— plaz ✿ ✨ @ STELLAR LABS (@plazynoodles) June 22, 2020
Larian issued a statement saying he made his posts out of frustration because Amina's actions were "attacking the product."
He then claimed the doll was designed by a Black man and re-stated the timeline for production. He also claimed his team tried to reach out to Amina.
@emmajg/Twitter
Which just lead to more questions that neither the company or Larian answered.
Also who is Shir Ami, the person you said designed the doll, and why hasn't he said anything?
— megan (@kindLizard) June 20, 2020
Radio silence or say nothing until lawyers tell them what to say. They're probably Photoshopping some fake bollocks to keep going with this lie to prove they didn't copy @StudioMucci likeness - even the strands in the hair match! We're not blind/stupid to believe #LOLSurprise pic.twitter.com/xUSzHd3qJS
— Emmajg (@emmajg) June 20, 2020
Larian has since deleted his Twitter account.
@isaaclarian/Twitter
Mucciolo stands by her version of events and her evidence.
"I will continue to speak up for myself because I feel like in doing so, I'm also speaking up for every other Black artist and independent creative, who is experiencing this kind of theft, but may not have the kind of platform I do."
"This behavior from big corporations has to stop. It's too easy just to pay and collaborate with an artist instead of stealing."
She is currently seeking a lawyer.