German footballer and
Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is considering legal action
against a Hong Kong toy manufacturer that has made Nazi dolls that look just
like him.
Other dolls on the toy
maker's website bear a striking resemblance to famous celebrities
The dolls are produced
by Dragon in Dream (DiD) a toy manufacturing company that specializes in
producing "realistic, lifelike" action figurines, according to its
website.
DiD's website was
quickly disabled following the revelations, but the original site featured a
doll labeled as "WWII German Army Supply Duty -- Bastian" that came
complete with a uniform adorned with a swastika-bearing eagle.
Watch the video
Bastian's management
company advised lawyers in Germany this week to begin legal proceedings, according
to German newspaper Bild, with one media lawyer calling the doll a "clear
violation of Schweinsteiger's personality rights."
DiD's phone went
unanswered on Friday and it could not be contacted for comment by email, but
the company previously told the newspaper that it was a "complete
coincidence" that the figurine looked like the footballer.
"We thought all
Germans look like that," DiD said. "Bastian is also a very common
name in Germany."
Exploration of other
products on the DiD website before it was taken offline revealed a series of
other remarkable coincidences, with advertised figurines that bear a striking
resemblance to Daniel Craig, Matt Damon, Robert De Niro and Johnny Depp, among
others.
Daniel Craig
Matt Damon
Ed Harris
Robert De Niro
Johny Dep
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