Exclusive
Michael Jackson‘s Funko POP! dolls might belong on a shelf somewhere, but they had no business being on the company’s site for years now … and his estate just put an end to it.
Sources tell TMZ … attorneys for the MJ estate recently noticed Funko POP! was still using images of the rare Michael Jackson collection that hit the market nearly a decade ago on their website in what the estate considered a way to keep fans engaged.
Fact is … we’re told the estate did do a 2-year licensing deal with Funko in 2011, but that expired in 2013. However, Funko collectors could still access images of the dolls in the website catalogues … a no-no for Mike’s Estate.
As for the dolls, the original collection featured 5 — one for Bad, Smooth Criminal, Beat It, Billie Jean and one in a sequined jacket — and they still do pretty well on the resale market. In fact, there’s a Smooth Criminal doll on Amazon for nearly $300.
In any case, Funko got the message, and agreed to pull the images of the MJ dolls … so the MJ Estate was satisfied.
We reached out to Funko … so far, no word back.