Build-A-Bear releases drag queen-inspired teddy bear as part of its adult line

WASHINGTON (TND) — Build-A-Bear Workshop has unveiled a new collaboration with television personality RuPaul, who made his name hosting a drag queen competition show called "RuPaul's Drag Race."

The teddy bear portrayal of RuPaul, full nameRuPaul Charles, is part of Build-A-Bear's adult line of teddy bears called "The Bear Cave."

The bear's design appears to draw inspiration from RuPaul's song "Cover Girl."

"'Cover BEAR! Put the fur in your walk. Head to paw, let your whole body talk.' She done already done had herses—and now you can have yourses with your very own RuPaul Bear!" the product's description reads. "Two iconic pop culture institutions join forces for this one-of-a-kind collector's item made in tribute to the world's most famous drag queen."

The bear, priced at $56, is dressed with RuPaul's popular blonde blowout wig, a gold sequin dress with a bow on one of the shoulders and has golden paws. Golden heeled shoes can be purchased separately for $8.

The item can only be bought online. As a result, it has certain manufacturing restrictions a typical bear bought in one of Build-A-Bear's brick-and-mortar stores does not. Bears bought in-store can be bought unstuffed and customized to include scents and sounds, but the RuPaul special edition bear cannot be purchased with these customizations.

While the stuffed animal collaboration elicited praise from some, it also sparked heavy criticisms from others over the sexual connotations associated with a teddy bear inspired by a drag queen.

Conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro slammed the new Build-A-Bear collaboration during an episode of his podcast "The Ben Shapiro Show."

"When they say that they're not coming after the kids, that's a lie, they're coming after the kids," Shapiro insisted.

Conservative commentator Matt Walsh, who has called contemporary gender ideology "the greatest evil we currently face in our culture," also had a few choice words for the company.

"Remember," Walsh tweeted. "There's absolutely no agenda to groom your kids. Don't be ridiculous. On an unrelated note, @buildabear is selling a drag queen stuffed bear for children."