LOS ANGELES — A South Carolina woman is suing Mattel after she says her daughter was exposed to pornographic images from a URL misprint on the toy company’s “Wicked” dolls.
Mattel’s first launch of the dolls, featuring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda in the movie adaptation of the musical “Wicked,” were pulled off the shelves after social media users said the link on the package didn’t take them to the Universal Pictures film website.
Instead, the packaging mistakenly cited a link to “Wicked Pictures,” an adult entertainment company that produces X-rated movies, and requires users to be 18 or older to enter.
A class action lawsuit, filed against the company on Dec. 3, accuses Mattel of violating California consumer protection laws.
The complaint also states that consumers did not know the toy would “contain access to such an inappropriate web link given that product was advertised for ages 4 years and above.”
While Mattel says it does not issue comment on pending litigation, a company statement says its limited-edition dolls are back on sale with the correct link after being temporarily off-sale starting Nov. 11.
“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. We express our gratitude to our consumers and retailers for their understanding and patience while we worked to remedy the issue,” the statement read.
“Wicked” hit theaters on Nov. 22 and is reported to be the highest-grossing movie based on a Broadway musical.
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