Some parents who bought their kids dolls of the characters from the new Wicked movie ended up getting an unwanted surprise after finding an X-rated error on the box.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star in the new Wicked movie. Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Wicked has been one of the most talked about movies of the year, with Ariana Grande playing Glinda the good witch, while Cynthia Erivo takes on the role of Elphaba.
And it’s not just the cast’s controversies – which include Erivo’s comments about a fan-made poster and Grande’s relationship with co-star Ethan Slater – that have got fans up in arms.
It turns out that some of the dolls related to the movie have accidentally got a very X-rated web address printed on their boxes.
Fans who purchased the Mattel dolls spotted that there was a web address printed on the back, reading www.wicked.com.
So you’d think that URL would take you to the movie’s official website, right?
Well, no. That would be www.wickedmovie.com. Without the ‘movie’ in the URL, it turns out to be an adult website instead.
Fans were quick to call out the company on social media, sharing images of the boxes online.
Mattel mistakenly printed a porn site on the packaging of ‘Wicked’ dolls.
The URL which should say ‘WickedMovie’ is instead only listed as ‘Wicked’ which directs to a page that requires users to be 18 years or older to enter. pic.twitter.com/dDHBmt2mee
— Pop Base (@PopBase) November 10, 2024
One wrote: “The official Mattel Wicked dolls link to a porn site on the box,” and: “Went to Target and Walmart today and yeah, the Wicked dolls have the [p*rn] website listed #WickedMovie (yes, I bought 2 of them LOL).”
Others added: “The official Mattel Wicked dolls link to a an adult site on the box,” and: “LMAO Universal pictures put the wrong website for @wickedmovie on the back of their dolls for kids. It leads to a porn website.”
Some people noticed that the dolls appeared to be gone from Target’s website, writing: “all the dolls on the target website for wicked aren’t working, i fear a recall is happening…”
https://twitter.com/i/status/1855716641474314516
Another advised people to buy them if they see them as they may end up being worth a pretty penny thanks to the mistake: “If you’re a collector/hoarder BUY Wicked dolls NOW while they still have the website error… and enjoy your riches from the value of it later in life.”
Other merchandise for the movie, which is an adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, including LEGO sets appear to have the correct web address on the packaging, and it seems like the Mattel dolls are the only ones affected by the mistake.
Mattel apologized for the oversight, telling People in a statement: “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.
“We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this.”
Wicked is set to be released in theaters on November 21.