Meet the 2013 “Black Barbie.”  The image above of a brown Barbie doll surfaced on the Internet recently and quickly went viral.

The blonde haired, dark skinned doll, sporting gold chains, cleavage, and two bags that are strikingly similar to the Louis Vuitton monogram multicolor collection, has many questioning if this new image is supposed to be the next version of Mattel’s African-American Barbie.

If so, it wouldn’t be the first time Barbie has ventured into scandalous territories…

[READ: From Oreos to Video Hoes: Scandalous Barbies Throughout the Years… (PHOTOS)]

Fact or fiction? Is this doll the epitome of African-American culture in the eye’s of the worlds largest toymaker?

Find out under the cut…

It’s not clear where the image originated but MSN News tracked it to the Facebook page of R&B radio station WBLS 107.5, which posted it along with the question, “Is this the true essence of our beauty and how America perceives the black woman?”

Check out some of the responses…

According to MSN, this rumor is FALSE! The image above is NOT the new African-American Barbie.

Mattel, Inc., which owns the Barbie brand, issued a statement Monday denying that the doll whose image is being circulated on the Internet was ever made or sold by them.

In a statement to MSN News Monday, Mattel, Inc., which owns the Barbie brand, said that the doll in the picture above “is not a Barbie doll and is not created or sold by Mattel.”

The image is still circulating and has sparked outrage on the Internet.  As you can see from the responses above, many found it offensive, while there were some who see nothing wrong with it, comparing the image to celebrity icons like Mary J. Blige and Beyonce.

YNaija.com, an Internet newspaper for young Nigerians, said that the doll strongly resembled “imagery of African-American women that is seen in some of the most famous celebrities,” such as Beyoncé, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj.

If the rumor were true, who would be the blame? Our daughters do all idolize Beyonce’s blond hair and Nicki Minaj’s cleavage… so what’s to stop Mattel from creating a doll that represents that?

What are your thoughts on the image of the new “African-American” Barbie?

**UPDATE 2/19/13 12:50pm:

Just FYI… Yakini from RealityTVFashion sent over a bit of information about the origin of the doll.

Just wanted to clear up that silly rumor about the new “Barbie” doll. I’ve seen it posted on numerous sites. I’m a doll collection since 2004 and that’s not the new Barbie at all.

That’s a line of dolls called Fashion Royalty, created by designer Jason Wu in the early 2000’s. This doll pictured on your blog is called Perfect Skin Adele.

There are many Adele dolls available actually – and not all of them have such an “around the way” look. Some of the other Adele dolls look quite classy and are dressed more conservatively.

So there you have it.  Those of you who are in love with the doll now have a name to search to add her to your collection.

Thanks for the info Yakini!