‘Wicked’ Dolls Pulled From Shelves for Accidental Porn Link on Packages

When your movie is being used to sell everything from Lego sets to luggage to mystery-colored mac and cheese, an errant product or two is bound to slip through. Over the weekend, the team at Wicked learned that the hard way. On Monday, toy company Mattel recalled thousands of Wicked-themed dolls and issued an apology after it was discovered that the boxes had accidentally included a link to a porn website, Wicked Pictures.

Mattel apparently failed to do a quick Google search before printing the packages, and instead of directing consumers to check out wickedmovie.com, the official site for Universal’s Wicked, they were directed to wicked dot com, the website for Wicked Pictures. The error could affect revenue for the “Barbie” toy company, given the cost of having to remove the dolls from stores.

“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,” Mattel said in a statement. “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’s 11-inch, Wicked-themed “Fashion Dolls” depict Cynthia Erivo’s Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba and Ariana Grande’s Glinda the Good Witch in outfits their characters wear in the movie. By Monday, the line of Mattel dolls, which retail between $25 to $40 depending on the outfit, had been removed from Target, Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, and Macy’s. While many stores have moved swiftly to get rid of the merchandise, some of the dolls with the labeling error on the packaging are being resold on eBay for anywhere from $40 to $250. It seems that some people really do want wickedness thrust upon them.