Mattel sued over Wicked dolls that included links to porn website on packaging

Mattel is being sued for mistakenly printing the link to a pornographic site on the packaging of its special-edition Wicked dolls marking the new Ariana Grande film by the same name. 

A South Carolina resident filed a class action lawsuit after buying the toy for her daughter. As per the suit, the girl, after buying the doll, visited the X-rated website that had “nothing to do with the Wicked doll.” 

Wicked dolls mistakenly list adult entertainment website

Instead of listing its official website, the Wicked dolls mistakenly listed a similarly-titled website for the pornographic site Wicked Pictures rather than the official page for the Universal Pictures film. Wicked the film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande and has been doing good business at the box office.

In her lawsuit, the plaintiff alleged that Mattel didn’t offer a refund and believes she and her child suffered “emotional distress” from the misprint.

“These scenes were hardcore, full on nude pornographic images depicting actual intercourse," said the complaint.

"Plaintiff’s minor daughter immediately showed her mother the photographs and both were horrified by what they saw. If the plaintiff had been aware of such an inappropriate defect in the product, she would not have purchased it.”

The dolls were pulled from the shelves at retailers after the issue came to notice.

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The Universal Pictures issued a statement saying it was “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 consumers who already have the dolls to “discard the product packaging or obscure the link.”

Mattel declines to comment on litigation

Mattel has declined to comment on pending litigation but provided a statement about the product

It said: “The Wicked Dolls have returned for sale with correct packaging at retailers online and in stores to meet the strong consumer demand for the products.

"The previous misprint on the packaging in no way impacts the value or play experience provided by the product itself in the limited number of units sold before the correction.”