"As horrible as one could fear": Perez Hilton reacts after Shein is accused of allegedly selling childlike sex dolls

Perez Hilton reacted after Chinese online retailer Shein was accused of selling sex dolls with a childlike appearance on its website, a revelation that sparked widespread outrage in France. In a November 4 article on his website, Hilton addressed the controversy and remarked:

“Well, this is completely horrific. Shein, the Chinese online shopping platform, is in hot water in France after reportedly platforming an exceptionally disturbing product — what is, apparently, a sex doll of a child… Yeah. Ick. It’s exactly as horrible as one could fear.”

Perez Hilton went on to explain that the images of the product appeared innocent and "benign enough" at first glance. The dolls were "creepy, uncanny valley level of realistic", and resembled a doll of a little girl holding a teddy bear. But it was the product’s description that reportedly alarmed French authorities and made their "blood run cold."

He then detailed that these three-foot-tall doll, listed for €190 (approximately $218 USD) on Shein, was explicitly advertised as a “sex doll” with an “erotic body” and “realistic genitalia,” which, according to Hilton, made the situation especially disturbing.

Further in his article, Hilton also detailed how the issue came to light, emphasizing the role of France’s consumer protection agency in flagging the listing.

“France’s consumer watchdog organization, the Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF), identified the product just days before Shein was set to open its flagship Paris store,” he reported.

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Shein pulls childlike sex dolls from sale after the French consumer watchdog organization's discovery

Shein to open its first physical store in France (Image via Getty Images)

According to a Reuters report dated November 2, Chinese online retailer Shein removed childlike sex dolls from its website after France’s consumer watchdog discovered them, sparking widespread outrage just days before the company’s first-ever physical store opening in the country.

The Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) said late on November 1 that it had found the dolls listed for sale on the company's French website, alongside other p*rnographic items such as adult sex dolls.

Explaining its findings, the DGCCRF gave a statement saying:

“Their description and categorization on the site leave little doubt as to the child p*rnography nature of the content.”

According to the US Sun, DGCCRF spokesperson Alice Vilcot-Dutarte told Le Parisien that the team was “particularly shocked” to see such items being sold on a public platform.

“Imagine a child browsing the site, looking for a doll, randomly stumbling upon these products,” she added.

The watchdog further highlighted the lack of adequate age restrictions on Shein’s platform, stating that there were “no effective filtering measures” to prevent minors or sensitive audiences from viewing p*rnographic content.

Following this discovery, the fast-fashion brand said it acted immediately to remove the listings. In a statement to The US Sun, the company explained:

“The products in question were immediately delisted as soon as we became aware of these serious issues…. We take this matter extremely seriously. Such content is completely unacceptable and goes against everything we stand for.”

The brand reiterated that it maintained strict policies against illegal or explicit materials, writing that it had “a zero-tolerance policy towards any content or products that violate our internal policies or applicable laws.”

However, French authorities have since raised concerns about Shein’s vetting process and how such explicit items managed to bypass its review systems.

In response, the brand told the BBC that it was taking “immediate corrective actions” and “reinforcing internal controls” to ensure similar listings would not reappear.

It also added that it was “investigating how these listings circumvented screening measures” and conducting a “comprehensive review” to remove any comparable third-party products.

Shein also reported that it had temporarily removed its adult products category as a precaution. The company's executive chairman, Donald Tang, also gave a statement regarding this issue.

He remarked that the “fight against child exploitation” was “non-negotiable”. He then highlighted that although the “marketplace listings” were essentially “from third-party sellers”, he was taking up this matter “personally”. He also promised that he would be “tracing the source” and take “swift, decisive action against those responsible.”

This latest controversy also added to the company’s growing list of troubles in France.

Earlier, on July 3, France’s antitrust agency fined Shein €40 million ($47.17 million) for engaging in deceptive business practices related to misleading discounts. The nearly year-long investigation found that the fast-fashion brand's French sales arm, Infinite Style E-Commerce Co., Ltd., had misled customers by inflating prices before applying purported discounts.

The agency concluded that the company had “deceived consumers about the authenticity of discounts they could benefit from.” Under French law, discount prices must be based on the lowest rate offered in the preceding 30 days — a rule the brand was found to have breached multiple times.

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This latest scandal emerged at a particularly sensitive time for Shein, which was preparing to open its Paris location on November 5 at the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville (BHV).

Edited by Shayari Roy