Mattel, the toy company behind Barbie and Hot Wheels, accidentally printed the website URL of an adult pornography site on the boxes for its new line of ‘Wicked’ dolls, according to photos published by the New York Post.
Published on the back of each doll’s packaging is a link to the website “wicked.com,” which is the domain for an adult film site. The official website for the Universal-produced movie is “wickedmovie.com.”
A spokesperson for Mattel insisted that the URL was a mistake and that they are attempting to correct the issue.
“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,” a spokesperson told US Weekly. “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.”
The alleged mistake was caught by a Reddit user who posted online to see if her product’s packaging was an outlier.
“I purchased the Singing Elphaba doll and upon inspection, the website printed on the back side Mattel box, right above the barcode is listed as WWW.WICKED.COM – which is actually and [sic] unaffiliated ‘adult’ NSFW 18+ website,” the post reads.
Some online commentators believe the inclusion of an adult film site on a children’s toy is no accident. These commentators have compared the incident to fashion brand Balenciaga’s BDSM-themed photoshoot with a child. The controversial photo shoot had documents discussing child pornography on the set, leading to boycotts of the fashion empire’s products.
Balenciaga’s apparent attempt to normalize sex crimes around children has led commentators to believe that Mattel and Universal may be in cahoots to spread a similar message.
