New $35 Donkey Kong cushion also comes with what fans are calling a "banana hole", but I don't think people are going to use the 15-inch plush in the way Nintendo intends

Donkey Kong sat on a boardwalk, raising a single finger with his back to the camera.

My 2025 bingo card didn't include Donkey Kong (probably unintentionally) becoming Nintendo's premier sex icon, but that's what's happening thanks to a new 15-inch cushion that, for some reason, comes with an arm-sized hole.

Nintendo has revealed new merch for the innocent-looking, family-friendly platformer Donkey Kong Bananza. You can get fleece jumpers and t-shirts themed after everyone's favorite monke, but the collection's showstopper is easily the $35 "super soft and huggable" barrel plush with a suspiciously-placed hole.

"Unlike other ordinary plush, it has a unique squishy texture and is super soft to touch," the cushion's store description reads.

I've never once bought a cushion and wished it had a hole – what would I possibly use it for? – but the UK website variant more clearly demonstrates what Nintendo intended for people to do with it as the storepage shows a woman snugly laying her head down on the barrel while her arm fits inside. Useful for the rare occasion you want to sleep at your desk, I guess?

they gave donkey kong barrel a fuck hole https://t.co/zhF0yxjfsH pic.twitter.com/vbX8CHZAoWJune 26, 2025

The Donkey Kong barrel pillow has a "banana" hole. 🫡 https://t.co/35d3VsRiI6 pic.twitter.com/SoEDxifkJtJune 26, 2025

The more obvious use is, well, urm... the internet has already figured that one out. Let's just say some people saw it and immediately thought 'Oh, it's a banana hole.' And, you know what? Fair enough. The jokes write themselves. But here's one from me, too: What do Donkey Kong and Banjo-Kazooie have in common? They both like to Nut(s) & Bolt(s).

Needless to say, I won't be looking at the name DK the same way ever again.

Donkey Kong's no stranger to sexual innuendo, though. That cursed, really surreal Donkey Kong cartoon from the 1990s was infamous for how darn caked up our titular ape was, along with a "coconut cream pie" song that's so out of pocket, it's hard to believe it's from an official Nintendo animation. It's probably worth checking out now that it's free on YouTube, though – just for the early rotoscoped mocap and musical numbers, that is.

Donkey Kong Bananza is bringing back the DK Rap, but after going uncredited for the seminal hip hop classic in the Mario Movie, the song's composer wasn't aware it was returning in the Switch 2 game.