Mattel has confirmed reports that its official Wicked movie doll packaging includes a link to a porn site after images of the products went viral on social media.
Images of the toys, released to coincide with this month’s launch of the Wicked movie starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, popped up on social media over the weekend and revealed that the packaging contains a link to a porn site on the box itself.
The official Mattel Wicked dolls link to a porn site on the box 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/iW4mNVAlPE
— just2good (Sarah Genao) (@just2goodYT) November 9, 2024
The official website is WickedMovie.com, but the website listed on the packaging mistakenly leaves out the “movie” part of the URL. Mattel created the special edition dolls in partnership with Universal Pictures, distributor of the Wicked movie. They retail for $24.99 to $39.99 and are sold by Amazon, Walmart, and Target as well as the Mattel Shop.
In a statement issued to Variety, Mattel confirmed the error and issued guidance to parents.
“Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel ‘Wicked’ collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S., which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page. 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.”
Back in July, Grande and Erivo expressed their delight at seeing their characters recreated in official doll form in an Instagram video, below. Erivo’s caption read: "What a dream come true to be realized as Elphaba and Glinda in the form of Sweet Little dolls. Little Cynthia and little Ari are pleased. 🥹"
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.