A woke Build-A-Bear Workshop employee in Washington state allegedly denied a 16-year-old girl’s simple wish to name her new teddy bear after slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, crumpling up the toy’s birth certificate in front of her and sparking outrage.
Evi McCormick told King 5 News that what was supposed to be a fun outing with friends at Southcenter Mall near Seattle turned sour when the store manager refused to print “Charlie Kirk” on the bear’s certificate.
“She just didn’t agree with it. She didn’t support it and she told me, ‘We’re not doing this,’” McCormick recalled.
Shocked, the teen said she walked away from the register while a friend paid for the bear. “It wasn’t political until she made it that way,” she added.
Build-A-Bear’s official policy only prohibits “indecent or distasteful” names, but McCormick said she simply wanted to honor Kirk, 31, who was assassinated last month during a campus debate in Utah. “I was mesmerized and captivated that he could speak with such elegance. He was a role model,” she said.
The incident, which happened Sept. 26, infuriated her mother, Amber McCormick. She called the company’s corporate office demanding answers.
At first, the family was offered a $20 gift card as an apology. Days later, Build-A-Bear corporate officials followed up again to say employees in the Seattle area would be re-trained to “keep politics away from teddy bears.”
“They said their goal is to prevent this sort of situation from happening to anybody else,” Amber explained.
For Evi, the moment was a stark reminder of how deep America’s cultural divide has become—even at a toy store.
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