Wicked porn blunder: Mattel pulls Ariana Grande movie dolls after mistakenly putting adult site URL on packaging
Barbie toy company Mattel publicly apologises to parents after listing a not-so-children-friendly website on Wicked dolls collection packaging.
Wicked movie merchandising has ironically lived up to the movie’s title in a not-so-children-friendly way. In a nightmarish development, toy company Mattel accidentally listed an adult porn site on the packaging of a merch line meant for children four and up. The “unfortunate error” was attributed to the similarities shared between the X-rated website and the URL promoting the upcoming film adaptation of the hit musical.
The forthcoming Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-starring big-screen project follows up the previous Mattel-based Margot Robbie-led Barbie blockbuster. Ahead of its November 22 cinematic premiere, the film is not only making the news for its world premiere and other promotional photo-ops but also a major slip-up. The web address erroneously listed on the boxed merchandise line is wicked.com (domain registered since 1994) instead of wickedmovie.com.
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Mattel apologises for major Wicked dolls collection slip-up
Later on Sunday, the Hot Wheels creator issued an apology: “Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the US, which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page,” read the statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. "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.”
Wicked dolls pulled from public sale
In addition to the public apology, Mattel ended up pulling the doll collection. While the Wicked dolls merchandise was no longer available for sale at Target by Sunday afternoon, the doll line mistakenly advertising a porn website will eventually be pulled from other major retail partners backing the Universal movie, including Walmart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Best Buy, DSW, and Amazon.
Despite the toy company’s efforts to erase the erroneous merch line from public memory, the products flashing the NSFW online address have already made their way to eBay for bumped prices, ranging from $100 to $800. The original retail pieces bore the $24.99 to $39.99 price tag.