THE mysterious gibberish uttered by the Teletubbies may please toddlers, but it has raised the ire of some shoppers who claim the tubbies are offensive.
Some say Po - the Cantonese-speaking character from the children's television show - mutters offensive words.
They claim she says 'fatty, fatty', while other people are convinced the red-suited Teletubby says 'faggot'.
Licensee itsy bitsy Entertainment Co, defended Po and said the doll was actually singing 'fai-dit, fai-dit,' or 'faster, faster' on the British show.
Po, who with the other Teletubbies arrived on Hong Kong screens earlier this year, also sings 'maan, maan,' or 'slowly, slowly' if her scooter is going too fast, and sometimes counts in Cantonese.
Dallas-based Arlington Toy Enterprises has taken its talking Po dolls off the shelves and sent them back to manufacturer Hasbro. 'We were just trying to head off any potential problems,' said Dean May, president of the store chain. 'It is very difficult to discern what that one was saying.' Chris Byrne, editor of Playthings MarketWatch, a leading toy trade publication, defended the dolls.