Mattel forced to apologise after Wicked doll boxes link to porn site
Wicked is set to be one of the biggest films of 2024. But the film's marketing campaign has been left a little red-faced after linking to a pornography website on doll boxes packaging the movie's memorabilia.
Released to global audiences on 22 November, Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp, a misunderstood young woman who later turns into the Wicked Witch of the West that we all know from The Wizard of Oz.
It also stars Ariana Grande as Glinda Upland, who later becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North. The film follows the two of them as they form an unlikely friendship.
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With a budget of $145 million (£112 million), it is set to be a blockbuster that millions around the world will go and see with a star-studded cast including Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, and Jonathan Bailey.
To go alongside the movie, Mattel created a run of limited edition dolls inspired by the characters brought to life by Grande and Erivo.
But the team creating the merchandise have been left with their heads in their hands after inadvertently linking to adult content via a URL on the doll boxes containing characters from the film.
Being sold through the likes of Amazon, Walmart, and Target, they have been available for purchase since 26 September for $39.99 (£31).
Dolls for the Glinda, Elphaba, Nessarose, Madame Morrible, and Fiyero dolls have been issued, with passionate fans snapping them up weeks before the film is even released.
But the packaging for said dolls has caused quite a stir online due to a very unfortunate website linked on the bottom of the boxes.
Linking to www.wicked.com, the website is in fact a pornographic website offering 'cinematic and parody porn movies' and has nothing to do with the official film.
The website is age-restricted with those typing it in asked to confirm they are at least 18 years old.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), shoppers have been left chuckling at the NSFW error found initially on a Glinda doll box. The actual URL for the film is www.wickedmovie.com.
Other merch was inspected by fans who found that Lego didn't make the same mistake on its Wicked products.
In a statement, Mattel said it was aware of the error.
A spokesperson said: “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.”
LADbible has contacted Mattel for further comment.
Topics: Adult Industry, Film, Shopping, Social Media
Tom Earnshaw