I'm seeing this story pop up in several places without much info. All the rest of the Mei items are still available as far as I can tell - maybe it's just out of stock, or human error?
I wouldn't want to be too hasty on this conclusion.
You're probably right, I probably posted this story too hastily... I want it to be true, but on the other hand, I really have poor insight into the "gaming world" so I've no idea of how reliable the source is (probably not very). Can't seem to delete the post though...
This story seems artificial. So a "limited quantity" pre-order item is unavailable and tons of other Mei items remaining available, and we're meant to believe this is down to politics rather than the character getting popular and them selling out?
If they had removed the Funko and other Mei stuff, sure, but it looks like demand was high and they sold out/exhausted their limited run of an expensive collectable.
Why specifically the statue? Wouldn't it make more sense if you are going after a push back on an icon, to e.g. remove the T-shirt? Much easier to wear a T-Shirt than to carry a statue around to display your affiliation I would guess.
So I'm inclined to doubt that is the reason for the removal until some solid evidence shows up.
I wouldn't want to be too hasty on this conclusion.