Are Labubus evil? Exploring the conspiracy theory surrounding demon Pazuzu and all about the popular doll's origin story
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Labubus (Photo: Instagram/@kasinglung)As Labubus, a plush monster elf toy, continues to take the world by storm, a conspiracy theory suggesting connections to the demon Pazuzu is making its rounds online. It all began sometime in July 2025 when netizens like Instagram user @waltmotivates posted images of the dolls alongside a demon, with warnings asking people not to buy the toy.
Some posts even included a clip from The Simpsons (season 29, episode 4, titled Treehouse of Horror XXVIII) showing Homer buying a Pazuzu figurine thinking it was pizza.
He later gave it to his youngest child, which ended in her getting possessed. Suggesting that buying the aforementioned toy was like inviting evil, @waltmotivates wrote:
"Do not buy this demonic toy for your children or yourself!!
According to outlets like Joe and Unilad, as the conspiracy theory went viral, some fans began getting rid of the dolls; a handful even burned them.
However, there is no evidence linking the toy and Pazuzu. Moreover, they are not evil.
Cartoonist Kasing Lung created the character, Labubu, as part of his storybook series called The Monsters in 2015.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) Europe (published in March 2025), Lung explained that the characters were inspired by Scandinavian and northern European fairy tales he grew up reading.
Further, Pazuzu is a demon that appears in Mesopotamian mythology. Mesopotamia is an ancient civilization located in the Middle East (near modern-day Iraq).
Pazuzu also happens to be the name of the creature in the iconic horror film The Exorcist (which in inturn inspired The Simpsons episode).
In the film, a Pazuzu stone talisman was unearthed during an archaeological dig in Iraq (ruins of Hatra).
According to Pop Mart, despite their "mischievous look(s)," Labubus were "kind-hearted" and always ready to "help"
In Kasing Lung's three-part illustrated book, The Monsters, Labubus were a tribe of female elves. According to Unilad, Lung partnered with China-based retail brand Pop Mart in 2019 to translate his characters into toys.
The company soon began exclusively selling it as dolls. The toys went viral after several celebrities, like BLACKPINK's Lisa, Rihanna, and David Beckham, were spotted with them.
Labubus are perhaps most recognized as the furry toys with a wide, toothy grin showing off pointed teeth and bunny ears.
A description on Pop Mart's website explained that Lung created the "fairy world" in The Monsters, taking inspiration from "Nordic mythology."
Noting that the "magical characters" were both "good and evil," the company added:
"Among them, the most prominent one was LABUBU, a small monster with high, pointed ears and serrated teeth. Despite a mischievous look, (it) is kind-hearted and always wants to help, but often accidentally achieves the opposite."
In his interview with CGTN Europe in March 2025, Lung explained that he moved to the Netherlands when he was 7 (from Hong Kong). At the time, his teacher gave him storybooks, including Jip and Janneke, to grasp the Dutch language.
He added that he also spent time "reading in the library." These included "many fairy tales from Northern Europe and Scandinavia."
Lung elaborated that as he focused on becoming an artist after his studies, he was inspired by these "fairy tales" and characters (that he "loved"). He continued:
"So that's why I wanted to create something that I've always known existed in my heart."
X user @deathwolfsimp criticized the suggestion that the toy was associated with the demon, calling it "religious psychosis."
They included an alleged sketch of Pazuzu—a creature having a wide grin and pointed teeth alongside horns, wings, and a tail.
In response, X user @Daymein_Draws commented, "What’s even funnier is that pazuzu image is f**king ai," under the post. Which suggests that this image might have been AI-generated.
Citing the book Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, Snopes.com relayed that Pazuzu was a "demonic god" originating in the "first millennium BC" in the "Assyrian and Babylonian" regions.
Quoting the book, the outlet wrote:
"He is represented with a rather canine face with abnormally bulging eyes, a scaly body, a snakeheaded p*nis, the talons of a bird and usually wings. He is often regarded as an evil underworld demon but he seems also to have played a beneficent role as a protector against pestilential winds."
It is worth noting that Snopes.com is a fact-checking website, which has previously debunked several hoax conspiracy theories, including the viral claim of using pink salt for weight loss.
Per the outlet, based on the physical description alone, Labubu did not resemble Pazuzu.
Britannica.com gives a similar physical description and origins of Pazuzu. Per the website, Mesopotamian legends claim Pazuzu won a battle against the "powerful wind demons" and was often portrayed as an "ally for humans."
Kasing Lung has not publicly commented on the toys association with the demon.
TOPICS: Labubu, The Exorcist (1973 film), The Simpsons, Kasing Lung