Mattel Apologizes After ‘Wicked’ Movie Tie-In Toy Directs Children to Porn Site
Mattel recently faced a significant backlash after a packaging error in their new toy line inspired by the Broadway musical “Wicked.” The dolls, which are modeled after characters from the movie, mistakenly included a URL leading to a pornographic website instead of the intended official movie website. This misprint was discovered by consumers, leading to furious reactions on social media platforms, where many called for immediate action from retailers like Target and Walmart. Mattel issued an apology, acknowledging the error and advising parents to discard the affected packaging. The incident has drawn heightened scrutiny due to existing controversies surrounding Mattel’s recent inclusive toy lines, which have polarized opinions. This is not the first time Mattel has encountered difficulties with packaging errors that have sparked public outrage.
Not to sound like a Bostonian, but that’s one wicked mistake.
Mattel, one of the largest toy manufacturers in the world, found itself in some not-safe-for-work hot water after its latest movie tie-in toy line hit the streets.
The toy company known for global brands, like Barbie, Hot Wheels and even the Magic-8 ball, dropped some new toys for the Broadway musical-turned-theatrical release “Wicked.”
The Barbie-esque dolls, modeled after the characters of the movie, swiftly went viral — though undoubtedly not for reasons that Mattel would’ve hoped:
They’re now putting porn site links on the back of children’s toys.
This is from Mattel’s ‘Wicked’ movie dolls pic.twitter.com/snwMX5S1Hx
— Vision4theBlind (@Vision4theBlind) November 11, 2024
Yup, those children’s toys feature a website URL on the back of the box to “WICKED.COM” (please don’t actually go there) when it should have read “WICKEDMOVIE.COM.”
The first URL not only doesn’t go to the actual movie site; it goes to a pornographic web site.
People were understandably furious on social media.
“This is no accident… Expose a bunch of children to porn then say ‘sorry,’ but it’s already too late. You can’t un-expose kids to this stuff…,” one social media user commented.
“All of these Wicked toys at Target have a porn site on them. @Target can you please pull these ASAP,” another social media user said.
“Is @Mattel @Target @Walmart gonna do something about this!?” one especially perturbed social media user posted. “You put a PORN WEBSITE ON CHILDRENS TOYS.
“Are you freaking kidding me!?!!!?”
The incident had picked up enough steam over the weekend that Mattel itself had to apologize profusely on Sunday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“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,” the company said via 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.”
According to the Associated Press, “as of Monday morning, at least some of these ‘Wicked’ dolls appeared to be no longer available or not in stock on sites like Amazon, Target and Mattel’s.”
(There are no specifics in regards to how Mattel is otherwise handling this error.)
One reason that the backlash to this incident was especially fierce — apart from the obvious — likely has to do with the other backlash that Mattel has been facing.
Namely, Mattel has engaged in a number of culture war topics with its toy lines, which has polarized the once-neutral toy brand.
This also isn’t the first time a blundering typo has made it onto a Mattel toy box.
In a late-2023 attempt to honor America’s first female Cherokee tribal chief, Wilma Mankiller, Mattel released a special doll of her. The Cherokee symbol on the packaging was meant to convey “Cherokee.”
What it actually conveyed was “chicken.”
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