Build-A-Bear Launches RuPaul Collectable Toy Bear

"I feel like a proud parent!"

The Build-A-Bear brand has launched a collectible tribute to famed drag artist RuPaul, a move that transgender advocates hailed on social media.

RuPaul revealed the bear in an “unboxing” video on Instagram video last week, exclaiming “I feel like a proud parent.”

The stuffed product is fashioned after the drag persona and sports long blonde hair, gold sequined gown, and dramatic drag makeup.

The New York Post reports that the bear will only be available online, in a section of the Build-A-Bear website’s “Bear Cave,” which is “filled with unexpected collabs and unique plush gifts, intended for shoppers 18 and older.”

While many on social media reacted with positive amusement at the launch of the RuPaul bear, others pointed out that its release coincided with the passage of a law in Tennessee which banned “adult cabaret performances” in public or within the presence of children.

“At a time in which drag is being criminalized in the US, Build-A-Bear has released a RuPaul bear and I think that’s just FANTASTIC,” one opponent of the law wrote.

One the other hand, others pointed to this being one of the latest examples of a well-known U.S. company taking sides in a raging cultural battle over whether or not it is appropriate to incorporate LGBT culture into children’s culture and public education.

“Latest member of the go woke, go broke club,” one reader commented on The Post’s website.