“We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this,” toy company said in a statement
Mattel has pulled its Wicked dolls after packaging for the movie merchandise mistakenly listed a website to an adult porn site rather than to the Wicked movie website. The film, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, is adapted from the popular Broadway musical (and does not require being over 18 as it is firmly rated PG).
The toy company apologized on Sunday for the snafu.
“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 statement reads via The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
The character dolls with the mislabeled packaging feature fashion and singing ones, along with collectible varieties, and include Grande’s Glinda and Erivo’s Elphaba dolls. As for the misprint, those who want information on the movie should visit the film’s official site, wickedmovie.com. The erroneous website listed on the errant packaging that’s currently being pulled left out the crucial “movie” part of the URL. Do with that what you will.
As of Sunday evening, the Mattel-made dolls were no longer available at Target. Per THR, the company is in the process of yanking them from the shelves of other retailers, such as Walmart, Amazon, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Best Buy, and DSW.
Jon M. Chu’s Wicked arrives in theaters on Nov. 22. In addition to Grande and Erivo, the film stars Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum.