Mattel Faces Backlash After Accidentally Linking Wicked Doll Boxes to Adult Website

Mattel is finding itself in hot water, and it’s not for a “Hot Wheels” blunder. The toy giant behind beloved brands like Barbie is facing serious backlash after an embarrassing oversight with its new Wicked movie doll packaging. The issue? An accidental link to an adult website printed on the boxes.

The merchandise, featuring dolls of Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) from the highly-anticipated film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked, contained a shocking detail. Instead of the official site link, wickedmovie.com, the back of the packaging directed fans to wicked.com—a domain that leads straight to an adult website.

Fans quickly spotted the error and wasted no time calling out Mattel online. “Hey @Mattel whoever is responsible for your marketing/packaging for the new official Wicked dolls have made a HUGE mistake! The http://wicked.com on your packaging takes you to a porn site!” one X/Twitter user posted.

Others joined the outrage, with one user writing, “Oh damn, Mattel. This isn’t gonna end well. The Wicked dolls have the URL of a PORN SITE on the back of the box.” A third shared, “Oh my dear god, Mattel accidentally listed ‘Wicked dot com’ (porn site) instead of ‘Wickedmovie dot com’ (official site) on the Wicked movie doll boxes.”

Even eBay listings for the doll boxes revealed that hundreds of these error-riddled packages were already being sold. Social media exploded, with tweets like, “Whoever did the Mattel Wicked Dolls packaging is COOKED,” and “Mattel i was so excited after i bought your toy and when i went to wicked.com to see more Wicked products, i was met with hardcore pornography!! This is unacceptable!!! I expect reimbursement!”

The story even caught attention on Reddit, where users chimed in with comments like, “Someone is gonna get fired for this,” and “YOOOOO this has to be fixed.”

UPDATE: Mattel has issued a statement regarding the botched website address via The Hollywood reporter.

“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. 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.”

Directed by Crazy Rich Asians filmmaker Jon M. Chu, Wicked boasts a star-studded cast including Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, and Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond. The film’s first part hits theaters on November 22, with part two slated for release on November 21, 2025.