Small doll, big damage: Images on social media showing glass shards in the Chinese influencer’s home after a boy threw a remote control at the mirror-glass ceiling. — The Straits Times/ANN
A boy threw a tantrum over a jewel-adorned Labubu doll, causing more than 400,000 yuan (RM235,620) in property damage at the Shanghai home of the toy’s owner, a Chinese influencer.
In a post on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (RedNote), the influencer – Brother Tail – said the boy saw a Labubu doll adorned with expensive jewellery at his home, and demanded to have it.
When told no, the boy had a meltdown. At one point, he grabbed a remote control and threw it towards the mirror-glass ceiling.
It caused a portion of the ceiling to shatter, and an Italian crystal chandelier worth about 300,000 yuan (RM176,710) to fall.
Brother Tail said the boy came to his home with a visiting kin.
The incident happened on Aug 1, and Brother Tail said in his post he had since repaired the ceiling and chandelier, which cost roughly 400,000 yuan.
He said the parents of the boy – who appeared to show no remorse – offered to “sell everything they had”, but could only cover just 20,000 yuan (RM11,780) of the total cost, adding that the family was “too poor”, and that he did not think suing them would help.
The Chinese influencer said the boy’s parents requested that he not post about the incident, saying it might “affect the boy’s mood”.
“It’s unbelievable how elders like to use trivial family ties as emotional blackmail. They really have no sense of boundaries,” he complained in his post.
Labubu is a quirky monster character created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung in 2015, and popularised through a collaboration with toy store Pop Mart.
Pop Mart fuelled the Labubu trend via deft online marketing and by creating artificial scarcity through limited releases, “secret” editions and ultra-rare colourways.
Labubu’s popularity reached stratospheric heights after celebrities like BlackPink’s Lisa, Dua Lipa and Rihanna were seen on social media sporting the dolls as fashion accessories.
Originally priced between US$20 (RM85) and US$40 (RM170), the dolls are now reselling for thousands of dollars. Some rare editions have been sold for over US$150,000 at auctions.
The hype, scarcity and outrageous demand have led to fights, skirmishes and sheer retail chaos. — The Straits Times/ANN
