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Relatives win injunction against Mattel’s Frida Kahlo Barbie

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Distant relatives of the late Mexican artist Frida Kahlo said Friday they have won a temporary injunction that stops sales of a Frida Barbie doll.

Kahlo’s great-niece Mara de Anda Romeo argues that Mattel doesn’t have the rights to use Kahlo’s image as part of its Inspiring Women series.

According to a copy of the ruling, the toymaker and department stores in Mexico must stop commercializing the doll until the issue is resolved.

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Pablo Sangri, a lawyer for de Anda Romeo, said those named in the suit can appeal the ruling.

Mattel has said it worked with the Panama-based Frida Kahlo Corp., which it claims has rights to the artist’s image. The corporation said it got the rights through Kahlo’s niece, Isolda Pinedo Kahlo, more than a decade ago.

“This Barbie doll is meant to honor Frida Kahlo’s great legacy and story,” Mattel said in a statement Friday. “We followed the correct steps to secure permission and look forward to the matter being resolved in court.”

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Critics say the doll doesn’t reflect Kahlo’s heavy, nearly conjoined eyebrows, and its costume doesn’t accurately portray her elaborate Tehuana-style dresses.

That is, it’s more Barbie-like than Frida-like. Barbie is an American icon that often has been criticized as promoting an unrealistic body image and consumerist lifestyle. Kahlo was a lifelong Communist who died in 1954 before the doll was introduced.

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