'Django Unchained' slave toys stir controversy

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Action figures from Quentin Tarantino's new movie, "Django Unchained," are raising questions over whether they're appropriate. Civil rights activists say the toys are insulting.

At a news conference in Los Angeles' Leimert Park on Tuesday, civil rights activists called for a boycott of the action figures, which sell online for about $35.

"We feel these slave action figures are a slap in the face to our ancestors," said Najee Ali of Project Islam Hope. "Slavery is not a joke, it's not a doll, it's something that should not to be played with."

"Django Unchained" is a violent and sometimes comical revenge fantasy starring Jamie Foxx as a freed slave who kills his wife's former slave master.

The movie's action figures were manufactured in partnership with the Weinstein Company, which produced the film. The company has not commented on the toy controversy. Activists are calling for the filmmakers to stop production of the collectible dolls.

"This is highly offensive and we demand that these dolls be pulled immediately," said Rev. K.W. Tulloss of the National Action Network.

The activists that spoke at the news conference said they don't have a problem with the movie. Most said they were fans of "Django Unchained." But they said the action figures trivialize the atrocities associated with slavery.

Before the toys, there was outrage over the film's use of the "N" word.

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