An anti-Ted Cruz political action committee has released an ad trolling the Texas Republican senator for obsessing over what he claims are hidden messages in the Barbiemovie rather than more pressing political issues.
The “Lose Cruz” PAC’s ad mocks the senator’s obsession with culture-war issues — both real and imagined — by unveiling a collection of “Cruz-inspired Barbie dolls” mocking Cruz’s past actions, statements, or political positions.
The three Cruz-inspired dolls featured in the video show an “Insurrection Barbie”, with included a “Stop the Steal” button and podium to speak from as you attempt to “destroy democracy,” a “MAGA Podcaster Barbie” to help “promote the MAGA agenda” — a nod to Cruz’s own political podcast — and a “Cancun Barbie,” referring to the time when Cruz left Texas to vacation in Cancun while millions of Texans were left without power and water following a historic winter storm.
Cruz recently branded the Barbie movie as Chinese propaganda for a scene in the movie depicting a cartoonish map of the world, displaying a dashed line through the water surrounding the map’s crudely-drawn Asian continent.
Some have argued that the line is meant to represent the so-called “nine-dash line,” which Chinese propagandists have drawn on maps in order to lay claim to disputed territory in the South China Sea that other nations say does not belong to China. The controversy over the imaginary map led Vietnam, which has an ongoing conflict with China over where their maritime borders begin and end, to ban the film. The Philippines also initially flagged the movie over the map before eventually allowing the film to be screened, although the government has asked Warner Bros. to blur the line “in order to avoid further misinterpretations.”
The film’s distributor, Warner Bros., has defended the map of the world that appears in the film, arguing that the map is a children’s drawing and has no intended political meaning.
But Cruz — who frequently seizes on controversies that keep him in the public eye and allow him to pander to conservatives by ranting against various liberal “bogeymen,” including Hollywood at large — has insisted that the inclusion of dotted lines on the map used in the Barbie movie can only be interpreted as an attempt to push “Chinese communist propaganda.”
In a tweet, Cruz alleged that there may be a link between where many Barbie dolls are produced and the allegedly “political” message being pushed in the movie, writing: “I guess Barbie is made in China…”
A spokesperson for the senator told The Daily Mail: “Senator Cruz has been fighting for years to prevent American companies, especially Hollywood studios, from altering and censoring their content to appease the Chinese Communist Party.”
But the Lose Cruz PAC alleges that Cruz’s obsession with social issues — as he frequently rails against LGBTQ visibility, fixating especially on transgender individuals — or pop culture topics as evidence that the senator cares more about his public position and personal fame than his constituents’ needs or concerns.
Since the PAC’s ad was published and shared on social media, it has gained more than 400,000 views.
While the mock dolls touted in the commercial were initially envisioned as a fake product that would never result in a tangible product, the PAC gained so much feedback from Cruz-haters that it was inspired to create doll prototypes and deliver the dolls “inspired by his (lack of) work” to the senator’s office in the U.S. Capitol.
Today we delivered the “Ted Cruz Barbie Collection” to our part-time senator’s office.@TedCruz please enjoy Cancún Barbie, MAGA Podcaster Barbie, and Insurrection Barbie—inspired by you! pic.twitter.com/2DL9dN33fB
“Today we delivered the “Ted Cruz Barbie Collection” to our part-time senator’s office,” the PAC tweeted. “@TedCruz please enjoy Cancún Barbie, MAGA Podcaster Barbie, and Insurrection Barbie — inspired by you!”
The dolls are not available for purchase by the broader public. Thus far, Cruz has not publicly responded to the stunt.
The owners of Pink Pony, a new gay nightclub in Sydney, have apologized and vowed to change the club's name following backlash from the local LGBTQ community.
Kevin Du-Val and Michael Lewis — the owner and manager of the popular gay club Palms — had planned to open their new multi-level venue on Oxford Street, the main drag in Darlinghurst known for its vibrant LGBTQ nightlife, in early December.
But the club's name — which the owners said in a since-deleted social media post was "unashamedly inspired by its namesake song that resonates so profoundly within our community," referring to lesbian singer Chappell Roan's hit "Pink Pony Club" — sparked controversy after they described the type of patrons they hoped to attract, seemingly at the expense of others, according to 9News.
One Million Moms, the project of the anti-LGBTQ American Family Association known for railing against depictions of queer people, has a new target: NASCAR.
The group has launched a petition urging the racing organization to cancel an upcoming advertising campaign for the 2026 season, expected to air in February around the time of the Daytona 500, over its use of the slogan "Hell Yeah!"
Created by the Los Angeles agency 72andSunny, the ad aims to reintroduce fans to NASCAR’s brand and appeal to blue-collar audiences by emphasizing its "rebellious, Americana roots" while "satisfying its core fan base and reaching new audiences," according to Adweek.
Republicans are seizing on former Vice President Kamala Harris' new book, 107 Days -- a reference to the length of her abbreviated campaign following President Joe Biden's delayed exit from the race -- to accuse Democrats of prioritizing identity politics over merit.
In the book, Harris reveals that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was her preferred running mate in last year's presidential election, but she ultimately chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, citing concerns about how voters might respond to a ticket featuring both a Black woman and a gay man.
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