Within minutes of Michigan State Police posting an image of a blonde Barbie doll in a blue law enforcement uniform on social media in July, women in leadership positions at the agency expressed outrage and demanded the post be taken down, according to emails and text messages obtained by Metro Times through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The agency’s communications division joined this summer’s Barbie movie craze by posting an image of the long-haired doll standing in front of a state police car at about 5:20 p.m.
“This Barbie is ready to serve the state of Michigan!” the post on Facebook and Twitter read. “When you join the MSP #YouCanBeAnything. From a trooper to a forensic scientist, a motor carrier officer to a pilot, the possibilities are endless. Explore your future career path with the MSP today.”
Less than four hours later, the post was gone, and MSP issued a statement saying the image was deleted “out of respect” for their “female members.”
In dozens of texts and emails among MSP’s leadership, women law enforcement officials complained that the post was offensive and made a mockery out of the agency.
“This is ridiculous. Demeaning. Humiliating,” Beth Clark, assistant deputy director of the MSP’s Field Support Bureau, said in a group text to state police leaders.
In a separate text to Commander Lt. Col. Dale Hinz, Clark demanded, “This needs to come down off the site immediately.”
Capt. Jennifer Johnson called the post “embarrassing” and “insulting.”
“I’m livid,” she wrote in a group text. “Our troopers go out there everyday and risk their lives and we are telling potential recruits it’s all sun shine and rainbows and make believe????”
When Johnson texted MSP Insp. Lisa Rish about the post, Rish responded with an eye roll and barfing emoji and called it “a total yuck ad.”
“But maybe it will appeal to the younger families who will be swayed to go into MSP,” Rish admitted.
After MSP retracted the post, Johnson changed her tone.
“I understand they were trying to be current and clever,” Johnson wrote. “It just missed the mark.”
Insp. Lisa Gee-Cram wrote, “This is the most insulting thing I have ever seen.”
On the same week of the MSP post, other state leaders embraced the Barbie craze, sharing the common feeling that Barbie dolls can be empowering to girls and women. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer posted a series of images featuring a brunette Barbie doll in a pantsuit.
“This Barbie is the 49th Governor of the great state of Michigan, and just like @Barbie, fuchsia is my power color,” Whitmer’s account read. “I’m committed to fighting for a state where every Michigander, no matter their background, can thrive.”
Come on Barbie, let's go govern.
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) July 20, 2023
This Barbie is the 49th Governor of the great state of Michigan, and just like @Barbie, fuchsia is my power color. 💗 I'm committed to fighting for a state where every Michigander, no matter their background, can thrive. pic.twitter.com/F8Qq9gSrEL
The Michigan State Parks, Trails and Waterways Twitter page also boasted about Barbie, showing off dolls depicting shoreline birders, a ranger, and a boater.
Michigan House Democrats tweeted a photo of the state Capitol building in Lansing tinged in a rosy shade that resembled the iconic Barbie dreamhouse.
In a group text, an unidentified MSP official alluded to the empowerment that Barbie represents but still didn’t like the message the image sent.
“It’s supposed to mean ‘girls can do anything,’ the official texted. “Oh, so that must mean I should be a bimbo with long blonde hair, an eating disorder, and have NO gun in my holster?!?!”
Men in leadership positions also bashed the post. F/LT. Carl Rothernberger said the Barbie image was “truly embarrassing to the hard working members of our department.”
“I always wonder if they can top their last debacle, and Bam! They do …” Rothernberger wrote.
It’s not clear what the “last debacle” was.
In a group text, an unidentified MSP official suggested something nefarious may be afoot.
“Kinda makes you wonder who got paid,” the text read.
The post was created by MSP’s Communications and Outreach Division. As outrage grew, leaders urged the division’s director, Shanon Banner, to remove the post.
After the post was deleted, Commander Lt. Col. Dale Hinz texted Banner and assured her that she did nothing wrong.
“Rest assured, you and your team are doing a great jobs for the agency Shanon,” Hinz wrote. “I really don’t understand the concerns with the Barbie post.”
Shannon responded, “The last thing me or my team want to do is be disrespectful to our own members, especially fellow females.”
A day after the post was removed, an unidentified MSP employee told top police officials that she was “extremely disheartened” that the agency had deleted the Barbie post.
“I personally loved this post and thought it was relatable and exciting,” she wrote. “It also encouraged people to apply to the numerous career paths that MSP has, both sworn and civilian.”
She added, “As a woman leading change, I deserve to have a voice in things that affect me. Taking down a fun and relatable social media post that begins to open a larger discussion about women in law enforcement is nothing but harmful.”
Co-written and directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, the Barbie movie was critically acclaimed and a commercial success, beloved for its searing critique of the patriarchy and gender roles. It went on to earn $1.43 billion, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2023.
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