A South Carolina mom is suing Mattel after links to an adult website appeared on the packaging of its line of “Wicked” dolls.
Holly Ricketson, the plaintiff, filed a class action suit, claiming that her daughter, a minor, used her iPhone to visit a porn site found listed on the box of the “Wicked” doll she bought for her last month. The suit was filed Tuesday in federal court in the Central District of California.
The site “had nothing to do with the Wicked Doll. Rather, Wicked.com pasted scenes of pornographic advertisements across her phone screen,” states the complaint.
“These scenes were hardcore, full on nude pornographic images depicting actual intercourse. 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.”
The toy manufacturer apologized for the misprint after the error came to light when social media users discovered that the link to the film — which should have been wickedmovie.com — was mislabeled, sending consumers to Wicked Pictures, an independent adult film company.
The merchandise was launched to coincide with Universal’s box office hit. The packaging included those holding Elphaba and Glinda dolls. In the film, Elphaba is played by Cynthia Erivo and Glinda is played by Ariana Grande.
The well-reviewed film, which is rated PG, has grossed more than $275 million in the U.S. and Canada so far.
“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 toy company said in a statement. “We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this.”
The toy maker advised parents that the label was incorrect and directed consumers who had already purchased the product to discard its packaging and contact Mattel Customer Service.
Mattel moved to pull the dolls from online retailers and stores including Target, one of Universal’s retail partners on the movie.
However, Ricketson claims that the company did not “offer a refund for consumers who had already purchased the dolls.” Further, she claims her daughter “experienced emotional distress” as a result of mislabeled packaging.
Mattel declined to comment on the lawsuit. However, the firm earlier this week issued a statement to Deadline and other outlets:
“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,” Mattel said. “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.”
