First Lady's Fury Forces Ty to Rename Sasha & Malia Dolls

It wasn't even a week past the inauguration of Barack Obama as the new President of the United States, and Ty, the company famous for their "Beanie Babies", introduced the world to two new TyGirlz dolls named Sasha and Malia. Those just happened to be the names of Obama's two young daughters, and the fact that Ty had gone and made dolls that were so obviously meant to imitate the first daughters without seeking the permission of the Obamas, completely infuriated First Lady Michelle Obama.

Mrs. Obama deemed the dolls to be "inappropriate", and made her people see to it that something was done about the dolls. Ty maintained all along that it was simply a coincidence that they released two new black dolls named after the President's two daughters. Yea, we didn't believe them either.

Nevertheless, Ty had to do something to satisfy the First Lady, and so they decided that their best course of action was to rename the dolls. Instead of Sasha and Malia, the dolls will now be sold as Sydney and Maria.

Of course all this means is that now when the dolls are sold on eBay or in stores, there will be a small notation along with them indicating that they are the exact same dolls as the banned Sasha and Malia dolls. Those Sasha and Malia tagged dolls that remain in the hands of some lucky collectors will now be selling for a premium.

The change seems to have satisfied Michelle Obama. "We appreciate the company's response to this matter," said Mrs. Obama's press secretary, Katie McCormick Lelyveld.