Mr. Potato Head will now be known by the gender-neutral 'Potato Head'
Please call them Potato Head — Mr. Potato Head was their father.
On Thursday, the toymaker Hasbro announced that their classic Mr. Potato Head brand will no longer use the male honorific, and instead go by the gender-neutral "Potato Head." The new name is set to appear on boxes as soon as this year. As Fast Company explains, Hasbro's decision is intended to "break away from traditional gender norms, particularly when it comes to creating Potato Head families," and allow for young kids to have "a blank slate to create same-sex families or single-parent families."
The classic Mr. Potato Head toy famously appeared in the Toy Story films — in which he comically insisted on the "mister" — and was voiced by Don Rickles, who died in 2017. "I busted my bird for 60 years in the business," the comedian once joked to Maxim, "but my grandkids only know me as Mr. Potato Head."
Update 5:09 p.m.: Hasbro clarified that the classic Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters "aren't going anywhere" — rather than eliminating the gendered options, it seems kids will also have gender-neutral hair and accessory choices.
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