US toymaker Mattel has suddenly pulled their highly anticipated ‘Wicked’ dolls, created to coincide with the release of the movie later this month. All because of a “misprint” on the packaging

In the US, there are no ‘Wicked’ dolls, released in conjunction with the Jon M. Chu (of Crazy Rich Asians fame) movie, left on the shelves. They are not sold out. Their maker Mattel has quickly recalled all the dolls, as if it were a case of severe contamination. Well, sort of, except it is not of the bacterial kind. As it turns out, the clear-front boxes that house in-character Glinda and Elphaba (not, apparently, the rest, green-faced or otherwise), are made impure with the appearance of a web address on the bottom right of the back that directs the curious to an adult website instead of Universal’s movie site, as has been intended.

That address is wicked.com, a membership webpage that is self-touted as “the ultimate destination for award-winning adult content”. It proudly claims to offer “25+ years” worth of “over 6000+ scenes of wicked porn” that parody movies and movie stars. Already, Netizens are sharing images of doctored photo menus of the website, with the porn stars’ faces replaced by characters from the much-hyped Wicked movie-musical in which Asia’s pride Michelle Yeoh sings! One Instagrammer, ‘Rolliedolls’, wrote: “Wow, I checked out this website on the Wicked doll box and really learned a thing or two about a thing or two.”

One of the many images shared on line showing the conspicuous wicked web address. Photo: Instagram

Apparently, corruptible ‘Wicked’ doll fans spotted the error and shared it on social media (where else?). Mattel’s reaction is, as you can imagine, swift. In a statement, the company said, “Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the US, which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page,” as CNN reported. Mattel then advised customers and parents who bought those dolls in the boxes with the misprint to throw the packaging away or to “obscure the link”. It didn’t say not to visit the site, but did note that it “is not appropriate for children” although the dolls are suitable for “children aged four and above”.

This is not the first time Mattel is in the news for the wrong reason. Back in 2021, they released special Barbies to commemorate the Tokyo Olympics and were marketed as inclusive. A Black doll was in the line-up, but for reasons not entirely clear (Mattel offered “fell short” in response), an Asian face was totally excluded. The omission prompted an outcry among fans of the games, who rightly noted the unmissable irony of it all: That the Games took place in Asia. Somehow, it totally escaped Mattel. Isn’t that wicked? A wicked web address on a packaging really won’t be the last wicked thing Mattel will do.

Photo: Mattel