Toy company Mattel sued after Wicked porn website misprint leaves mother and daughter in ‘emotional distress’
A mother has claimed that she and her daughter have been caused “emotional distress” after they accessed the porn website which was misprinted on the packaging of the new Wicked dolls.
Before the film was released, the company released dolls of the characters Elphaba and Glinda, played by British actress Cynthia Erivo and US singer Ariana Grande for the film version of the hit musical.
Fans of the show flocked to buy the toys but were soon left horrified when the web address on the back of the dolls led first to a page warning further access is restricted to adults over the age of 18, with “explicit” material of a “pornographic nature” ahead.
Mattel said it “deeply regrets” the error and it had intended to direct customers to the WickedMovie.com page.
A statement read: “We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this.
“Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children.
“Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel Customer Service for further information.”
The dolls were immediately recalled but it hasn’t stopped one buyer from issuing a class action lawsuit in the federal court in Los Angeles.
Holly Ricketson from South Carolina gave a doll to her daughter who then visited an adult entertainment website through the link – according to official documents.
She claimed her child showed her hardcore photographs and both were “horrified” by what they saw, suffering emotional distress.
The official Mattel Wicked dolls link to a porn site on the box 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/iW4mNVAlPE
— just2good (Sarah Genao) (@just2goodYT) November 9, 2024
Ricketson said she would not have bought the doll had she known about the mistake and claimed Mattel had not offered a refund despite recalling the dolls.
Mattel recommends the dolls for children aged four and up.
It has been reported that the lawsuit is seeking at least $5million (£3.94million) in damages for anyone in the US who bought Wicked dolls with the error.
It accuses Mattel of negligence, selling products unfit for sale, and violating California consumer protection laws.
The mistake from the toy company was quickly circulated on the internet and left many to comment on the issue from Mattel.
One posted on Reddit: “I purchased the Singing Elphaba doll. Upon inspection, the website printed on the back side [of the] Mattel box, right above the barcode is listed as… an unaffiliated adult [not safe for work] 18+ website. Anyone else seeing this!?”
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In another post, a US-based woman said: “Went to Target and Walmart today and yeah, the Wicked dolls have the [porn] website listed.”
Someone on X penned: “You had one job… lol -> Mattel accidentally linked to a porn site on new Wicked doll packaging.”
Slamming the mistake, a furious buyer expressed: “Universal Pictures put the wrong website for @wickedmovie on the back of their dolls for kids. It leads to a porn website. Really not on!”
Another agreed: “So, Mattel’s initial release of dolls from the upcoming Wicked movie all have a link to a p0rn site on their packaging, instead of the actual one.
“That’s one heck of an international blunder to make.” (sic)