Reality star Louise Thompson applauds LEGO Friends for ‘important’ stoma representation
Made in Chelsea star Louise Thompson has praised a LEGO Friends set for the inclusion of a stoma bag and abdominal scar on a mini-doll.
Louise has publicly spoken about her own stoma since April 2024, the result of ongoing health issues since the birth of her son Leo in 2021. A stoma bag collects waste from the body through a surgically created opening on the surface of the abdomen that diverts the flow of faeces or urine. According to Crohns and Colitis, Louise is among 190,000 in the UK who need a stoma.
LEGO Friends 42630 Heartlake City Water Park, released in June 2024, features a mini-doll called Sara who has a visible stoma bag and abdominal scar printed on her stomach. Speaking to the PA news agency as reported by the Evening Standard, Louise applauded the representation in the LEGO set.
“It makes me feel emotional knowing that there are people out there who understand how important it is to be inclusive in the toy building process because, at the end of the day, toys are the entry point for a child into the world,” she said. “They’re fundamental in their development. They shape their view of what they see.
“To include a little character like Sara, who’s got an ostomy bag, so accurately, designed with the team of specialists, and also other stoma wearers to make sure that the bag’s in the right place, and the abdominal scar and everything.
“It’s so important because it will help children engage in a dialogue around visible and non-visible disabilities. At home, we make a really big effort to try and normalise it around my son.”
LEGO Friends as a theme has been home to various forms of diverse representation over the last few years, particularly since its rebrand in 2023, featuring mini-dolls with vitiligo, anxiety, Downs syndrome, a glucose monitor, and one character in the current main cast even has a limb difference.
“We don’t want to use inclusivity or diversity as tokenism – we will never do that,” LEGO Friends Marketing Lead Costas Syrmos said back in 2022 when the LEGO Friends rebrand was announced. “Everything we do will be embedded in meaningful stories that the audience can relate to.
“When it comes to all the stories we’re writing, and the characters as well, we work very closely with the Geena Davis Institute. They are experts, and they vet all the stories to make sure that we’re on the right path, and we don’t make any mistakes in how we represent the world.”
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