“We are sick of it. We are tired of it. We are not interested.” That’s how one protester described Liberty Mutual Insurance Group’s new mascot, Liberty Biberty, at a protest outside the company’s Boston headquarters Oct. 25.
Liberty Mutual introduced this bright yellow fluff ball sporting a Statue of Liberty crown in July. However, it has sparked online discourse over the past several weeks, with many expressing their discontent with the puppet.
Connor Harvey, 19, of Wilmot, New Hampshire, known on YouTube as DimesAreTasty, organized the protest and led several chants, including: “Who do we want?” “Liberty Biberty!” “How do we want him?” “Dead!”
Around 100 people participated in the protest, Harvey told USA TODAY, holding handmade signs that read, “If you give me Biberty, give me death” and “Liberty Biberty is fascism.”
Liberty Mutual Insurance Group introduced its new mascot, Liberty Biberty, in July 2026.
What is Liberty Biberty?
Introduced in July, Liberty Biberty is Liberty Mutual’s newest mascot. The handmade mascot, created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, is a bright yellow fluff ball with blue eyes, wearing the Statue of Liberty crown. Liberty Biberty “embodies the warm, fuzzy feeling of getting great coverage and great savings on car insurance,” according to a Liberty Mutual news release.
Liberty Biberty is the company’s first new mascot in eight years, since LiMu Emu and Doug’s introduction in 2019.
Liberty Mutual Insurance Group introduced the mascots LiMu Emu and Doug in 2019.
The name “Liberty Biberty” comes from a 2019 Liberty Mutual ad in which an actor struggles to pronounce the company name. Over the years, several Liberty Mutual ads have included the incorrect pronunciation. In fact, the actor from the popular 2019 ad even encounters Liberty Biberty himself, where the two argue about which came first.
Why do people dislike Liberty Biberty?
The “why” behind the dislike for Liberty Biberty differs per person. Some think the puppet mascot is creepy, while others believe Liberty Biberty represents a deeper issue in modern advertising.
Speaking with USA TODAY on Oct. 29, Harvey described Liberty Biberty as the pinnacle of “enshittifcation,” used to describe the degradation of digital platforms’ quality and experience to increase profits.
“They (Liberty Mutual) took a joke from a 2019 commercial that people were just already iffy on − in my personal opinion it was never funny even when they aired it − and they have run it into the ground,” Harvey said. “They ran it into the ground before they even had this puppet. The fact that they just took this one-liner from one commercial and turned it into this yellow thing is just weird; it’s lazy. They aren’t trying.”
Liberty Biberty, Harvey said, is like if Subway created a broccoli mascot and named it, “Eat Fresh,” the chain’s slogan.
One person even chose to embody their disdain for the mascot with a tattoo, which has since gone viral online. Completed by Maddie Paris Rota at DarkArt Tattoo Collective in Phoenix, the tattoo depicts Liberty Biberty being put through a meat grinder.
“Still can’t believe I actually got to tattoo this design yesterday,” Rota wrote in the post’s caption.
Several Facebook Groups dedicated to Liberty Biberty libel have also popped up, including a “liberty biberty hate group” with about 431 members and “Americans Against Liberty Biberty.”
“The commercials are the most stupid I’ve ever seen. I can’t fathom they are paying a marketing group for this swill. Would never consider this company for insurance after all the stupidity,” one Facebook user posted in “liberty biberty hate group.”
Earlier in October, late-night TV host John Oliver even poked fun at Liberty Biberty.
“While this show is firmly on the record as being pro-puppet, let me be clear, not this one because I hate this thing,” Oliver said during his segment. “That right there is a fuzzy testicle with teeth. It looks like Big Bird’s sleep paralysis demon. The very name, ‘Liberty Biberty,’ sounds like what the devil would shout in tongues to herald his arrival on Earth. I don’t think it’s a great sign that my first reaction to that ad was less, ‘Maybe I should switch insurance providers,’ and more, ‘Is it technically murder if the thing is already dead behind the eyes?'”
At the end of the day, though, much of the Liberty Biberty hate is rooted in humor. Harvey said he thinks people enjoy rallying around something that doesn’t really matter, serving as a good distraction from everything else going on in the world.
Not everyone hates Liberty Biberty
Though countless consumers may be taking to social media to share their disgust with the new mascot, some are fans of the ball of fluff, including 6-year-old Finn Walker, of Texas.
In a Facebook post made Oct. 21, Emily Walker, Finn’s mother, shared a photo of her son in a handmade Liberty Biberty costume. The post quickly went viral and, as of Oct. 29, has more than 8,000 likes. Walker said before she knew it, someone who spotted the post shared it with a friend who works at Liberty Mutual, who then connected with the Walkers to send Finn branded merchandise.
Finn Walker, 6, poses in a handmade Liberty Biberty costume, inspired by Liberty Mutual’s new mascot.
“She made the merch possible for Finn, and we have been in touch multiple times since we originally were connected with her,” Walker said. “We are so grateful as his parents, and he is just ecstatic that people enjoy his costume as much as he does.”
On Oct. 28, Walker shared two new photos of Finn surrounded by his Liberty Mutual merch, including four Liberty Biberty plushies, two LiMu Emu plushies, five pairs of Liberty Biberty socks, three Liberty Biberty T-shirts and other LiMu Emu merchandise.
And Walker isn’t the only one gearing up for a Liberty Biberty-inspired Halloween. Content creator Madison Davis made her own Liberty Biberty costume and a TikTok video showing it off. Her video had more than 818,000 views as of Oct. 29.
“Not all angels can walk the (Victoria’s Secret) runway, some of us are DIYing Liberty Biberty,” Davis wrote.
What is Liberty Mutual saying about the discourse?
Liberty Mutual is keeping a close eye on the wide range of reactions and opinions to Liberty Biberty, Jenna Lebel, chief marketing officer, told USA TODAY on Oct. 29.
“Biberty is unexpected by design, with a look and personality that’s unmistakably his own. We’re encouraged by how strongly people are engaging with him, whether they love him or feel differently,” Lebel said, adding that the mascot tested above average on attention and brand attribution in independent testing.
“It’s been fun to see the creativity and conversation Biberty’s introduction has inspired. At the same time, it’s not just about generating attention. It’s about building a brand that people recognize, remember and trust.”
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A small fuzzy ball named Liberty Biberty is dividing the internet
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