No More Sasha and Malia Dolls

Sasha and Malia are now Sydney and Mariah: Ty Inc. – who also produces Beanie Babies – is about to rename its dolls that were originally sold under the names, "Marvelous Malia" and "Sweet Sasha," in January, the New York Post reports. CEO Ty Warner said the dolls were inspired by "this historic time in our nation's history," but the names would be changed in deference to President Obama's family.

Naming the dolls after the two Obama girls has been harshly criticized, most prominently by their mother, Michelle Obama, herself. Her press spokeswoman deemed it "inappropriate to use young, private citizens for marketing purposes." Originally, Ty had denied the dolls were modeled after President Obama's daughters. "There's nothing on the dolls that refers to the Obama girls," a spokeswoman of Ty Inc. said, according to freep.com. "It would not be fair to say they are exact replications of these girls. They are not."

The two dark-haired, dark-skinned dolls were released as part of the "Ty Girlz" series that features the likes of "Beautiful Brianna," "Amazing Abby" and "Kool Kayla." The Sasha and Malia dolls are listed as "retired" on Ty's Web site as of now.