Mattel Is Being Sued for Selling WICKED Movie Collectibles That Featured a Porn Website on the Packaging
The toy company Mattel is being sued for mistakenly printing the URL for a pornographic website on the packaging for their special-edition Wicked dolls.
Last month, these beautiful collectible toys hit shelves, much to the delight of holiday shoppers and collectors alike. But when it was revealed that they had made a printing snafu, stores began pulling them from their shelves.
According to court documents, a South Carolina resident is launching a class action lawsuit after purchasing the toy for her young daughter, who visited the X-rated website that had “nothing to do with the Wicked doll.”
The toy company mistakenly listed a similarly-titled website for the adult-entertainment site Wicked Pictures, rather than the official page for the Universal Pictures film, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
The plaintiff alleges 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,” the lawsuit reads.
“Plaintiff’s minor daughter immediately showed her mother the photographs and both were horrified by what they saw. If plaintiff had been aware of such an inappropriate defect in the product, she would not have purchased it.”
Mattel, the manufacturer of Barbie, pulled the toy from shelves at retailers including Target, Amazon and Kohl’s. It also issued a statement that 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 declined to comment on pending litigation but provided a statement about the product, saying: “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.”
The mix-up obviously didn’t cause any trouble with the incredibly popular film’s ticket sales, as it went on to make $112 million in its debut and has since grossed $263 million domestically and $360 million globally during the week of Thanksgiving.
My sister is an avid Barbie collector from way back, and she was able to secure the whole line of Wicked dolls before they were pulled from shelves.
They should be worth a pretty penny one day, and even if not, they’re beautiful collectibles that any fan would enjoy.
via: Variety