Say hello to Labubu: A cuddly collectible with a hint of hell

Labubu began as a cutesy monster character in Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung’s Nordic mythology-inspired picture book series, “The Monsters.” However, when Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company, began producing and selling the character as a collectible plush toy in blind boxes in 2019, it became a global sensation, producing millions of dollars in revenue over the past few years.

The big-eyed, sharp-toothed plush toy has even been endorsed by high-profile celebrities like Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Lizzo, Simone Biles, David Beckham, and Cher, among many others.

Recently, however, people began to notice something strange about the Labubu doll: It has an uncanny resemblance to the Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu — the evil spirit that possesses and torments the character Regan in the 1973 film “The Exorcist.”

Before long, reports about Labubu toys exhibiting supernatural behavior started circulating, with people claiming that their doll whispers, changes eye color and facial expressions, moves on its own, and haunts their dreams. Some have even reported electronic devices malfunctioning or lights flickering in rooms where Labubu dolls were displayed.

Several people have resorted to burning their dolls or dousing them in holy water to ward off evil.

Is this a case of internet-spawned hysteria, or is there indeed a darkness attached to this toy?

BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey ventured down the rabbit hole of the Labubu controversy. Her conclusion: Stay away.

“Is this doll demonic? I don’t know. I don’t think it is possible for … an object to be demon-possessed,” says Allie, who attributes claims of supernatural Labubus to “superstition and not a biblical understanding of the powers that exist.”

She points to 1 Corinthians 8:4, where Paul reminds us that idols have “no real existence.”

“There is no inherent power in those icons or in those idols. They can’t hear. They can’t see. They don’t have power in and of themselves,” says Allie.

What’s concerning to her, however, is not the possibility of Labubus holding power but rather the idolatry they inspire.

“From a biblical perspective, [Labubus are] absolutely idolatrous,” she says.

In the West, this idolatry most often takes the form of materialism — “collecting that which is here today and gone tomorrow,” but in the East, it can look like “straight-up idolatry.”

“In Thailand, the Labubu character has been incorporated into Buddhist amulets [and] sacred tattoos due to its perceived ability to bring wealth and good fortune. Labubus were also featured in a Taoist ritual at a temple in Singapore during the nine emperor gods festival,” says Allie.

In both cases, it’s clear that Labubus are “casting some sort of spell on people,” she warns.

“Whether it is the kind of outright idolatry — idol worship, pagan worship — that we are seeing through Labubu in a place like Thailand, or whether it’s just part of this worship of materialism … or whether it is part of this very strange and disturbing trend of infantilizing the scary … I think [Labubu] is a very dangerous influence on the people who are purchasing these items and especially on the culture that our children are growing into.”

To hear more about the Labubu craze and Allie’s biblical analysis of this dark cultural trend, watch the episode above.

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