Bowen Yang was shocked when he saw the special gift that Craig Melvin gave him on TODAY.
During an Aug. 5 appearance on the show, Yang showed off his new Labubu doll that he wore around his waist.
“I want to see a guru about infusing fragments of my soul into it or something. It has that power โ that, like, demonic power,” he shared of the popular toy that’s been dubbed the new โit girlโ accessory of 2025.
When asked to share his Labubu’s name, Yang replied, “We don’t have one for it yet.” However, he said that he did want to call it Melvin, in honor of the doll’s first TV appearance with Craig.
“I didn’t even know you were going to name him after me. I got a present without knowing that,” Craig said.
Craig then showed off Yang’s gift: a small TODAY T-shirt for his Labubu doll.
“Oh my God! Melvin has a little TODAY show shirt!” Yang screamed.
“We wanted Melvin out in the world representing,” Craig added before giving Melvin a little kiss on the forehead.
Later on during the 3rd hour of TODAY, Yang appeared again to talk about his new award show, Las Culturistas Culture Awards. However, this time he was seen on camera with Melvin wearing the TODAY shirt.
While speaking with TODAY.com backstage, Yang explains how he got the viral little creature. The dolls retail from under $25 to $100 but can be resold for hundreds of dollars online.
“I got Melvin not in China and Melvin may or may not be authentic,” he says. “It’s not relevant. What’s relevant is I have a material connection to Melvin when I hold him, or when he hangs off my bag or my belt loop. And he has been officially styled by the TODAY show team with this amazing branded T-shirt.”
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