Whatever Happened To The Taco Bell Dog & Why Was She So Controversial?

A great mascot can turn any old business into a corporate juggernaut if handled with care. Just look at Gritty of the Philadelphia Flyers, a legend who helped cement his status with a cameo on the "Abbott Elementary" Season 2 premiere. The Geico Gecko continues to receive a lot of love, and Flo from Progressive somehow makes shopping for insurance fun. These days, Taco Bell doesn't really dabble in mascots, instead trying to lure in customers through cheap and oddly delicious food, and that may be due to how some in the general public reacted to the restaurant chain's now-infamous Chihuahua.

From 1997 to 2000, the Chihuahua would appear in a litany of commercials for the fast food brand, usually declaring, "¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!" Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui of "Reno 911!" and "Rocko's Modern Life" fame, the dog starred in many notable ads from the era, including a crossover with the 1998 "Godzilla" movie where the pooch tries to trap the monster in a regular-sized box. In 2000, Taco Bell moved away from the tiny icon, but her story was far from over.

Before the pooch was the Taco Bell Chihuahua, she was simply Gidget, born in 1994 and adopted by animal trainer Sue Chipperton. In 1997, TBWA worked with Taco Bell to develop a new series of ads, and the idea of a Chihuahua spokesperson was proposed since Taco Bell sells Mexican food and the breed is typically associated with Mexico. In her very first Taco Bell ad, Gidget runs down the street as another dog watches her, anticipating a romantic encounter. However, Gidget runs right past her to a man eating a taco, and, through special effects, her mouth moves as she says, in a man's voice, "¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!"

An icon was born, and "Yo quiero ..." became a well-known and often-repeated catchphrase. The commercials may have been discontinued in 2000, but Gidget continued with her acting career, even reprising her Taco Bell role once more for a Geico spot where she meets the Geico Gecko in what was surely the biggest crossover until "Avengers: Endgame." Gidget also starred in 2003's "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde" as Bruiser's mother.

While Reese Witherspoon has spoken about the path "Legally Blonde 3" could take, one thing that sadly won't happen is the return of Gidget. The pup passed away on July 21, 2009 and was cremated. Discussing her final years, Karin McElhatton from Studio Animal Services assured fans in a statement to ABC News, "She was retired. She lived like a queen, very pampered."

While the Taco Bell Chihuahua quickly became a legitimate pop culture phenomenon, the ads weren't without controversy. A number of Latin American groups spoke out against the commercials, insisting the dog celebrated racist characterizations. It led to important discussions surrounding representation in media, with some saying the ads were harmless and even making Latin culture seem cool. But there were others, like Mario Obledo from the California Coalition of Hispanic Organizations, who told The Los Angeles Times in 1998, "To equate a dog with an entire ethnic population is outrageous, despicable, demeaning and degrading."

Obledo even called for a boycott of Taco Bell if the ads featuring the Chihuahua didn't stop, which, of course, didn't happen until 2000. Rumors circulated that the dog had died in 2000, which is why the ads were halted, but the actual reasoning is a bit more milquetoast. The restaurant chain's revenue had declined around that time, so the company needed to change things up. While the Taco Bell commercial dog was popular, it clearly wasn't bringing in customers, so the ads were discontinued. It was a lackluster end for the iconic spokesperson (or spokesdog, we suppose). While Taco Bell had endured a lot of controversy from the dog's ads, the company's troubles involving the Chihuahua weren't over yet.

Taco Bell's troubles connected to its Chihuahua commercials weren't over. In 1998, the company was sued by two men who claimed to have created the character. The suit claimed that Taco Bell ultimately took their idea to develop with another ad agency, namely TBWA. A federal jury sided with the men in 2003, forcing Taco Bell to pay out $42 million. This ruling led to Taco Bell filing a lawsuit against TBWA, claiming they should be the ones liable for the dispute.

And if you thought it was impossible for the Taco Bell Chihuahua to be linked to a possible future United States president, you clearly don't understand how our wacky reality works. Doug Emhoff, husband to Vice President Kamala Harris, is a lawyer who defended TBWA and was successful at keeping the ad agency off the hook for any damages when the lawsuit concluded in 2009. In another unexpected turn of events, President Joe Biden announced on July 21, 2024 — 15 years to the day of Gidget's death — that he would not seek to be the Democratic nominee in that year's presidential election and endorsed Harris for the role.

Fast food conglomerates, racial divisions, and U.S. politics. Gidget is connected to everything that comprises modern American culture. That's not too shabby for a little Chihuahua.

Interested in more fast food industry controversy? Check out Looper's piece on The Super Size Me Controversy: Is It A McFib With A Side Of Lies?