Dolls have been produced for the movie ‘Wicked,’ which did very well at the box office. However, while the packaging was supposed to direct fans to WickedMovie.com, it allegedly contained the URL of a pornographic website called Wicked. Mattel is now being sued for selling toys that inadvertently advertised an adult website.
According to court documents, a woman from South Carolina filed a lawsuit over a special edition doll from the new movie ‘Wicked.’ She claims her daughter visited the website printed on the packaging, which had “nothing to do with the Wicked doll.”
Mattel clarified the situation to Variety on Tuesday. According to its statement, the intended URL was the movie’s official website, WickedMovie.com. Instead, the packaging redirected consumers to the website of a pornographic film distributor called Wicked. The unnamed plaintiff alleges that Mattel did not offer a refund when contacted about the issue. She also claims that she and her daughter suffered “emotional distress” as a result of the misprint.
“These scenes were hardcore, full on nude pornographic images depicting actual intercourse,” reads the class action 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.”
The toys have since been removed from shelves nationwide. In its statement, Mattel acknowledged “aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the United States, which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page.” The company advised customers to “discard the product packaging or obscure the link.”
‘Wicked’ was released in theaters on Friday, November 22, and had an impressive $112 million opening weekend. The movie is an adaptation of the hit Broadway musical of the same name and serves as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. It stars Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. The film is currently playing in theaters worldwide.
