Bobbleheads may be diminutive in size, yet for many enthusiasts they carry massive significance. Frequently crafted in the likeness of celebrated athletes and handed out by professional sports teams, bobbleheads are omnipresent. They even boast a dedicated museum.
Bobbleheads have been fashioned after Supreme Court Justices, Presidents, and even the Pope himself.
Usually, these whimsical plastic figurines are intended purely for fun – affix one to your car’s dashboard and watch its head bounce as you drive.
However, a handful of bobbleheads have ignited heated disputes, brought shame, and in one instance, caused a genuine physical injury. Below are the top 10 crazy bobblehead controversies that have captured headlines.
10 Einstein Gets Too Close To Marie Curie
Marie Curie earned two Nobel Prizes—one in 1903 alongside her husband Pierre, and another solo award in 1911. Together they uncovered a new element named polonium, and their work proved vital to the evolution of X‑ray technology. Curie also became the first female professor at the famed Sorbonne university in France.
All of these achievements were briefly set aside by host Joe Hanson on an episode of his PBS web series, “It’s Okay To Be Smart.”
The contentious segment depicted an imagined Thanksgiving dinner featuring bobblehead versions of Einstein, Curie, and several other renowned scientists. In the sketch, the Einstein bobblehead asks the Marie Curie bobblehead to “wear him like a parka.” Later, Einstein appears nude, and ultimately, the naked Einstein bobblehead is placed atop the Curie bobblehead.
Unsurprisingly, viewers voiced strong disapproval. Initially, Hanson defended the skit, claiming he aimed to expose “the dark reality that many men in his time acted inappropriately toward women.” PBS also stepped in, passively mocking the outrage by stating, “NOTE: Some people were offended by the scenes involving Marie Curie and Albert Einstein. We apologize for our comedic error.”
Eventually, PBS removed the video, and Hanson issued an apology, acknowledging, “We failed in using satire to shine some light on the problem of women’s under‑representation in science.” He added, “Harassment is real and unacceptable—I never intended to suggest otherwise.” The series survived the backlash and completed its seventh season in August 2019.
9 Blackface Bobblehead
Blackface—where white performers darkened their faces to caricature African‑Americans—gained popularity in the mid‑1800s through minstrel shows. These performers acted foolish and lazy for the amusement of white audiences, often leaving a white mouth area framed by bright clown makeup.
Bobblehead manufacturers apparently overlooked this history when they produced a tribute bobblehead for beloved Afro‑Latino Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz, mistakenly giving the figurine white lips.
The planned giveaway, intended to honor Ortiz’s moving tribute after the Boston Marathon bombing, was canceled by Red Sox President Sam Kennedy just five hours before game time.
“I personally thought it seemed to be an offensive portrayal of him and the facial features were racially insensitive,” Kennedy explained.
Ortiz himself questioned the likeness, asking, “That’s supposed to be me?” He supported the club’s decision to scrap the bobbleheads, using language the newspaper chose not to print.
BDA Inc., the company behind the bobblehead, concurred, stating, “We value our decades‑long relationship with the Red Sox organization and its decision to postpone Tuesday’s David Ortiz bobblehead giveaway. We’re currently working closely with the Red Sox to ensure the team and its fans receive a quality product.”
In total, 15,000 of the offensive bobbleheads were manufactured and subsequently returned.
8 John Wilkes Booth Bobblehead
President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. John Wilkes Booth, the assassin, shot Lincoln in the head at close range, with the bullet entering Lincoln’s left ear and lodging behind his right eye. Paralyzed and near death, Lincoln was taken to a boarding house across from the theatre, where he succumbed nine hours later.
In 2012, the Gettysburg National Military Park’s visitor‑center bookstore began selling a John Wilkes Booth bobblehead, complete with a drawn gun. Visitors to the historic battlefield, as well as a prominent Lincoln scholar, voiced concerns. Within a week, the bobblehead was withdrawn from shelves.
Dru Anne Neil, spokeswoman for the Gettysburg Foundation, acknowledged the public’s unease. Bobblehead sculptor Rick Lynn defended his creation, saying, “I use these bobbleheads as teaching tools. It’s hard to get young people interested in history. If you make an interactive figure, it becomes tactile and more accessible for them.”
Harold Hozer, a noted Lincoln scholar, objected, stating, “There’s a line between freedom of expression and insensitivity and boorishness. I hold no belief for censorship, but I do believe in common sense, respect, and good taste. And these souvenirs featured none of the above.”
7 Obama Bobblehead In Bottle Of Urine
In 2011, Glenn Beck, a polarizing political TV host, saw his Fox News program end amid a steady stream of anti‑Obama commentary.
Shortly after the show’s cancellation, Beck became embroiled in a bizarre controversy involving an Obama bobblehead allegedly immersed in a bottle of his own urine. The item was listed on eBay, prompting a wave of both outrage and fascination. Some bidders were willing to pay $11,000 for the piece.
eBay ultimately removed the listing, citing a policy that prohibits the sale of bodily fluids, stating, “We do not allow bodily fluids to be listed on our site. Even if the liquid in the jar is not urine, you are describing it as such.”
6 Bobblehead Gift A No‑No For Politicians
Lou Gehrig, legendary New York Yankee, famously played 2,130 consecutive games before his career was cut short by a mysterious neuromuscular disease later identified as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
In 2015, Gehrig resurfaced in the news via a bobblehead giveaway. The ALS Association supplied bobblehead replicas of Gehrig to Albany lawmakers, but the gifts ran afoul of the state Legislature’s strict gift‑ban rules, forcing officials to return them.
Lisa Reid, executive director of the Legislative Ethics Commission, explained, “There was concern that it could be seen as a violation of the public officers law.” The controversy stemmed from a cover letter accompanying the bobbleheads, which requested a $250,000 grant from the ALS Association. The timing coincided with ongoing ethics reforms in Albany.
Senator George Latimer, a Democrat, agreed to return the bobbleheads, remarking, “The real question is how do you compare this with something like a campaign donation in which you could receive in theory $10,000 from an interest group. That is worth a lot more than a bobblehead doll.”
5 Pitchwoman Dumped For Bobblehead Look‑Alike
Being the face of a popular product can be a lucrative gig.
Phoebe Jonas, a long‑time spokesperson for Bayer’s Phillips line, discovered the company had replaced her with a bobblehead replica that, she claimed, bore an uncanny resemblance to her.
Jonas filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court seeking $500,000 in damages, alleging the bobblehead was used to “avoid renegotiating the right to continue to use [Jonas’] likeness.” She also accused Bayer of continuing to feature her image in ads beyond the expiration of her contract.
The two parties ultimately reached a settlement regarding the use of Jonas in advertising after the contract ended, yet the bobblehead twin persisted in Bayer’s Phillips commercials.
Bayer’s VP of external communications, Chris Loder, dismissed the claims, stating, “The allegations contained in this complaint are baseless.”
Jonas’s attorney, Steven Mintz, responded with a hint of humor, accusing Bayer of “creating a big headache for everyone.”
4 Coach Bobblehead Shooting Range Target
When Lane Kiffin abandoned his coaching post at the University of Tennessee for USC, a heated fan reaction erupted outside the Neyland‑Thompson Sports Center, home of Tennessee football.
Brant Williams, owner of a local gun shop, responded by organizing a $5 per shot fundraising event, turning bobblehead replicas of Kiffin and his father, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, into shooting‑range targets to benefit a food bank.
The timing proved ill‑chosen, as the event occurred just days after Representative Gabrielle Giffords survived a shooting while meeting fans at a Tucson supermarket.
Second Harvest, the intended beneficiary food bank, withdrew its support after receiving a flood of angry calls and emails. Williams remained defiant, stating, “People won’t leave the event wanting to shoot Kiffin.”
However, members of the Knoxville Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church—victims of a 2008 lone‑gunman shooting—reached out, prompting Williams to reconsider. He said, “I was impressed with how much this seemed to hurt them,” and ultimately backed off the plan.
3 Indian Killer Bobblehead
In 1697, Abenaki Native Americans captured Hannah Duston, her infant daughter, and her nursemaid. While traveling north from Duston’s home in Haverhill, Massachusetts, the Abenakis killed Duston’s young child. The captors stopped for the night in Boscawen, New Hampshire. While the Abenaki families slept, Duston and her companions murdered ten Abenakis—including six children—then scalped each victim before returning home.
The New Hampshire Historical Society elected to commemorate this grim episode with a Hannah Duston bobblehead, complete with a hatchet.
The controversy deepened when the society also produced a bobblehead of Chief Passaconaway, a figure who advocated peaceful coexistence with English settlers in the 1600s and had been dead for over three decades at the time of Duston’s raid.
Within weeks of the dolls hitting the shelves, an employee quit, and another refused to handle the hatchet‑wielding bobblehead.
David Stewart‑Smith, historian for the state’s Intertribal Council, expressed frustration: “To have the New Hampshire Historical Society come out with a caricature of an Indian after all these years of us working on this issue … is just staggering.”
Bill Veillette, executive director of the NHHS, countered, “If (the society) gets scared of every little criticism that comes at us, we’ll crawl under the rock and do nothing. We’ll become the most boring place in the world. We’ll reinforce the notion that history is like religion and politics: You don’t talk about it in polite company because you don’t know who will offend.”
2 Bobbleheads Scrapped By Sexual Assault Allegations
Pete Rose, the all‑time hits leader in Major League Baseball, remains excluded from the Baseball Hall of Fame due to a lifetime ban for gambling on the sport.
In 2017, the Philadelphia Phillies planned a Pete Rose bobblehead giveaway day. However, the initiative hit a snag—not because of Rose’s gambling history, but due to a woman filing a lawsuit alleging Rose had sexual relations with her when she was a minor.
The plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe, claimed Rose began a sexual relationship with her in 1973 when she was merely 14 or 15 years old, and that the affair continued for several years.
Rose’s attorney countered that the allegations were unverified.
The Phillies intended to distribute 35,000 bobbleheads and induct Rose into their Wall of Fame. Once the allegations surfaced, the plans were scrapped, and the organization announced it would destroy all 35,000 bobbleheads.
1 Fan Hits Goalie With Bobblehead
In 2011, Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City hosted a Bobblehead giveaway featuring Omar Bravo.
During a match against the Portland Timbers, a fan hurled their Omar Bravo bobblehead onto the field, striking goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen directly in the face.
How much damage can a small plastic piece inflict? Nielsen lay on the turf for four minutes while a trainer tended to him, sustaining cuts around his eyes.
Nielsen recounted, “I did not see it coming. First I thought I walked into the post, then I realized I was a long way from the post.” He also described a “crazy headache” and needed to lie down for a while.
Security quickly apprehended the perpetrators, with a club spokesperson noting, “Two people from the same group in the third row both threw the head of bobbleheads, one of which struck Nielsen. Both were apprehended, both will be prosecuted.”
Despite the drama, Sporting Kansas City secured a 3‑1 victory, which Nielsen said helped offset the incident.