Mattel Apologizes For Putting A Link To A Porn Site On 'Wicked' Dolls Packaging

Dolls for the upcoming movie Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, hit shelves recently and by Sunday had the maker of the toys, Mattel, issuing an unexpected apology.

There wasn’t an issue with the dolls themselves, which are based on Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's characters Glinda and Elphaba, respectively. The issue was with the packaging.

(L-R) British actress and singer Cynthia Erivo, English actor Jonathan Bailey and US singer-songwriter and actress Ariana Grande attend Universal's "Wicked" premiere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, November 9, 2024. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP)

On the back of the package, near the barcode, is a web address. It's supposed to take customers to the website for the movie, but it doesn't do that. It takes folks to a porn site.

The site www.wicked.com is printed on the package instead of www.wickedmovie.com. The mistake slipped through the cracks and people noticed the misprint.

Video and images started making the rounds on social media over the weekend and Mattel responded by apologizing for the mix-up.

Mattel issued an apology on Sunday for a misprint on the packaging

"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," read a statement from the toy company, according to 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."

Mattel also had the dolls featuring the misprinted packaging pulled from the shelves. The "wicked" Wicked dolls have already popped up on eBay for much more than the retail price, because, of course, they have.

Wicked opens in theaters next Friday, November 22, ahead of Thanksgiving. They probably don’t want to hear this, but tossing a porn website on their packaging wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened.

The movie now has a unique story to go along with the line of dolls and people like me, who had no idea this movie was coming out, are now at least aware of it.