McDonald’s: Minion toys aren’t swearing
Some customers have complained about the talking Happy Meal toys
A "Minion" toy in New York, distributed in McDonald's restaurant's Happy Meals. The company says the talking toy is speaking only nonsense words and not something a little more adult. Experts say McDonald's may be right, and the fault may lie in how our brains are primed to find words even when they're not really there.
McDonald’s says there are no plans to take a talking Happy Meal toy out of distribution, even though some customers say it sounds like it uses curse words.
The fast-food restaurant introduced a Happy Meal on July 3 with toys inspired by the movie Minions.
The Oak Brook, Illinois-based company issued a statement saying the sounds the small yellow figures make are nonsense words, nothing offensive or profane. It says that the Minion Caveman toy makes three sounds — “para la bukay,” “hahaha” and “eh eh.”
A toy acquired by The Associated Press made a sound that could be interpreted as an obscene phrase commonly abbreviated as WTF.
McDonald’s says “a very small number of customers” have been in touch with the company about the toy. McDonald’s said the promotion is supposed to run through the end of July.
“Our goal at McDonald’s is to serve up food and fun for our valued customers, and we’re glad to have the Minions on board,” the company said.
A spokeswoman for McDonald’s, Lisa McComb, says there are no plans to take the toys out of distribution.
Minions, a prequel of the Despicable Me movies, premieres in the UAE on Thursday.
