Of course this had to happen: Mattel is facing a lawsuit over a serious packaging mishap with its special-edition “Wicked” dolls. The controversy stems from a misprinted URL on the packaging that directed users to an adult website instead of the intended promotional page for the movie Wicked.
The Very Much Expected Lawsuit
A South Carolina mother has filed a class action lawsuit after buying the toy for her young daughter, who inadvertently visited the X-rated site. According to the lawsuit, the website contained explicit adult content that was completely unrelated to the doll or the Wicked movie, leaving both the mother and her child horrified.
“These scenes were hardcore, full-on nude pornographic images depicting actual intercourse,” reads the lawsuit. “Plaintiff’s minor daughter immediately showed her mother the photographs, and both were horrified by what they saw. If plaintiff had been aware of such an inappropriate defect in the product, she would not have purchased it.”
When entering to the website, a pop up appears after showing the images. It reads:
“ACCESS BEYOND THIS PAGE IS RESTRICTED TO ADULTS (18+)* ONLY
The following Website, including all webpages, links, images and videos, displays sexually oriented, including explicit, material of a pornographic nature. Only consenting adults who (1) are at least eighteen (18) years of age, or the age of majority in the jurisdiction they are accessing the Website from, and (2) agree to the terms indicated below, are authorized to enter the Website and view the contents therein. By clicking ENTER, you affirm that you are at least eighteen (18) years of age, or the age of majority in the jurisdiction you are accessing the Website from AND agree to the terms indicated at the bottom of the page.”
However, the lawsuit also alleges that Mattel failed to offer refunds to affected consumers, adding to the emotional distress caused by the incident.
How Did This Happen?
The official Mattel Wicked dolls link to a porn site on the box 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/iW4mNVAlPE
— just2good (Sarah Genao) (@just2goodYT) November 9, 2024
In response, Mattel promptly pulled the dolls from shelves and issued a public statement acknowledging the mistake. “We are aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel ‘Wicked’ collection dolls, which originally intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page,” the company said. They advised customers who had already purchased the dolls to either discard the packaging or obscure the link, with some stating that they would be sold for a lot of money on websites like Ebay.
Despite the uproar, the mishap didn’t appear to hurt the success of Wicked at the box office. The musical film debuted with an impressive $112 million domestically and has since grossed over $360 million globally. Michael Moses, Universal’s chief marketing officer, downplayed the incident, calling it an “anecdote more than a threat.”
“I don’t think all press is good press, but this didn’t seem to damage interest in the movie,” Moses told Variety. “It’s one of those incidents you just move past.”
Now, it seems like Mattel is the one that’s facing trouble. Will they move past it?
