Mum sues Mattel over porn site URL printed on Wicked doll box
5 December 2024, 13:51 | Updated: 5 December 2024, 14:24
A mother has sued toy giant Mattel after her daughter accessed a porn website through a link printed on the box of a doll from the ‘Wicked’ film.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
A mother has sued toy giant Mattel after her daughter accessed a porn website through a link printed on the box of a doll from the ‘Wicked’ film.
A mum from South Carolina has sued Mattel saying her daughter accessed a porn site and was exposed to ‘hardcore’ porn scenes after searching up a link printed on a ‘Wicked’ doll box.
The company released promotional dolls tied to the film version of the famous play ‘Wicked’, starring British actress Cynthia Envivo and US pop star Ariana Grande.
But instead of featuring a link to the movie’s website, the packaging of the doll had a porn website printed.
The mother, Holly Ricketson, has filed a class action lawsuit in a federal court in Los Angeles, claiming that her daughter was led to a porn website after searching up the link.
Read more: Toy company Mattel apologizes after Wicked toy boxes link to porn website
Her daughter’s phone screen was spammed with ‘hardcore’ porn scenes which contained “full on nude images depicting actual intercourse,” Ms Ricketson claimed.
She said her child was shown ‘hardcore’ porn when she visited the website and both of them were ‘horrified’ by what they saw, suffering emotional distress as a result.
Court documents filed by Ms Ricketson allege that printing the pornographic website was an "inexcusable error" which meant the dolls are "unfit for their intended purpose".
The class action lawsuit is seeking $5m (£3.94m) in damages for all consumers in the US who bought the dolls with the porn link on their box.
The mum says she bought the doll on 11 November, the same day Mattel announced it would be recalling the dolls after people noticed the misprint on special media.
At the time, Mattel apologised for the gaffe, telling fans it “deeply regrets” sending the film’s young fanbase to a porn site.
In a statement, they said: "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 official Mattel Wicked dolls link to a porn site on the box 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/iW4mNVAlPE
— just2good (Sarah Genao) (@just2goodYT) November 9, 2024
The mistake was first discovered by X user Sarah Genao, who took to the social media site to share confirmation that the toy box was leading buyers to an adult site.
Sharing a side-by-side image, she said: “The official Mattel Wicked dolls link to a porn site on the box.”
Fans flooded social media with reactions after the error became clear.
“Thats an insane oversight,” one person wrote on X.
Another questioned: “Why would they do that knowing that it’s mostly kids buying these dolls?”
A third said: “I had to google this at a McDonald’s to see if it was true...it’s true.”
“Recall incoming? Stickers over the website? What are the odds these boxes end up being worth anything?” another asked.
