After the campaign filed a Federal Trade Commission complaint, Disney dropped the word “educational” from its marketing. But that was not enough for campaign officials. They forwarded their research to lawyers who threatened a class-action suit, prompting Disney to offer refunds of $15.99 for up to four Baby Einstein DVDs per household.

Barely two weeks after the story of the refunds appeared, Dr. Poussaint said, he and Dr. Linn were called before the Baker center’s executive board.

“I asked the lawyer who had talked to Disney, point-blank, whether Disney had threatened to sue, and he said no,” Dr. Poussaint said. “But I still don’t know the content of the conversations with Disney.”

Image The Walt Disney Company agreed to offer refunds to buyers of “Baby Einstein” videos from June 2004 to September 2009. Credit... Jim Wilson/The New York Times

In January, Dr. Poussaint said, the campaign was told to leave the center by the end of February. The timing could hardly have been more awkward. Dr. Poussaint was to be the honoree at the Judge Baker Children’s Center’s $250-a-ticket “World of Children” gala, scheduled for this Saturday — and Dr. Linn was the event’s co-chairwoman.

Dr. Poussaint decided that he could not in good faith receive the award when he was so at odds with the center. On Feb. 10, he sent a letter to John Weisz, the center’s president, saying that “with sadness and regret,” he was withdrawing from the event.

“I find the timing of your decision to expel C.C.F.C. from Judge Baker very difficult to understand, coming just before I was to receive the World of Children award, which was supposed to be a celebration — not a repudiation — of my work,” Dr. Poussaint wrote. “You told me that the mission of C.C.F.C. — to protect children from harmful exploitation by corporate marketers — is not in line with the Judge Baker mission. Indeed, we were told that we could no longer criticize any corporations, even if they were exploiting children.”