George Floyd death: Lego suspends marketing of police toys ‘in response to events in US’

Protests have been going on in various cities in the US since Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25.

World’s leading toy manufacturing company Lego has paused digital advertising for police-related toys after the death of George Floyd, a bladk man, at the hands of a white police officer in the US.

A man raises his fist in front of the White House during a protest against the death in police custody of George Floyd, in Washington, on June 4. (Reuters Photo)

In a tweet, a unit of UK-based Merlin Entertainments, said that it has “temporarily paused digital advertising in response to events in the US”. Lego, however, clarified that it has not removed some toy sets from sale.

“We’ve seen incorrect reports saying we’ve removed some LEGO sets from sale. To be clear, that is not the case and reports otherwise are false. Our intention was to temporarily pause digital advertising in response to events in the US. We hope this clears things up,” Lego said on Twitter.

Lego is a Danish company and the title is an abbreviation of “leg godt” meaning “play well” in Danish. The firm has 570 stores worldwide. It fights for market share in the global toy industry with the likes of Barbie maker Mattel and Hasbro.

Protests have been going on in various cities in the US since Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25.

However, the mood has changed int he ladt few days. The gatherings on Thursday, while boisterous at times, were for the most part orderly, in contrast to several previous nights punctuated by sporadic arson, looting and clashes between protesters and police.

The change in mood reflected a determination voiced by many protesters and organisers to transform outrage over Floyd’s death into a renewed civil rights movement, seeking reforms to America’s criminal justice system.

The image of Floyd pinned to the ground under the knee of a white officer has been a rallying cry for protesters across the world.