Mattel’s Accidentally X-Rated Wicked Doll Packaging Has Now Inspired a Lawsuit

As Wicked continues to rake it successful astatine the container bureau and physique hype arsenic a superior awards-season contender, a merchandising snafu tied to the movie is besides continuing to drawback headlines. Early successful November, earlier Wicked adjacent deed theaters, Mattel had to contented an apology aft it released dolls with packaging that mistakenly contained the URL for an adult-entertainment website, alternatively than the movie’s authoritative landing page. Now, with a recently filed lawsuit, it seems a elemental apology isn’t capable to marque up for the error.

You tin spot however it happened—”wicked.com” being utilized alternatively of “wickedmovie.com”—but Mattel is surely wishing it had double-checked its transcript earlier dropping wholesome witch dolls into stores with a small naughty astonishment included. That goes treble present that the artifact company’s PR embarrassment has entered the ineligible arena, arsenic Variety reports.

“According to tribunal documents, a South Carolina nonmigratory is launching a people enactment lawsuit aft purchasing the artifact for her young daughter, who visited the X-rated website that had ‘nothing to bash with the Wicked’ doll,” the commercialized writes; you tin work the suit itself successful that link. “The plaintiff alleges that Mattel didn’t connection a refund and believes she and her kid suffered ’emotional distress’ from the misprint.”

io9 hasn’t independently verified the contents of Wicked.com, but according to the lawsuit, the plaintiff and her girl got an eyeful of “hardcore, afloat connected nude pornographic images depicting existent intercourse … If plaintiff had been alert of specified an inappropriate defect successful the product, she would not person purchased it.”

After the packaging mistake became known, Mattel did propulsion the artifact from shelves and issued a regretful connection (read it successful afloat connected the Hollywood Reporter), but evidently it didn’t get the connection retired successful clip to forestall definite consumers from going down the incorrect net rabbit hole.

Fortunately for Universal, the workplace down Wicked, the boo-boo hasn’t wounded summons income whatsoever. Speaking to Variety, the company’s caput of selling characterized the Mattel misprint arsenic “an anecdote much than a threat” to the movie’s bottommost line.

Want much io9 news? Check retired erstwhile to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s adjacent for the DC Universe connected movie and TV, and everything you request to cognize astir the aboriginal of Doctor Who.