Bad luck: the film Wicked, adapted from the musical comedy in the world of The Wizard of Oz, is named after a pornographic site. Mattel, which produces dolls bearing the image of the film's heroines, was fooled.
Mattel, the doll giant behind the iconic Barbie, has made a grosse blunder. Everything started with a good intention: for the release of the film Wicked, which takes place in the world of The Wizard of Oz, the company decided to design two dolls bearing the likeness of Glinda and Elphaba, played by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. On the other hand, there is nothing to say about the dolls, which well reproduce the two characters from the musical from which the film is based.
But on the tail side, that's where everything goes wrong. On the back of the box, as is customary to do, Mattel has written the address of the film's website, so that everyone can quickly find out where these two dolls are from. You can read it in the image below, taken on X, where Internet users were happy to share their discovery: Wicked.com.
Except that if you go to Wicked.com, as the box suggests (and all its regional variations, according to our monitoring), you will not come across the official website of the film directed by Jon Chu. Because it is the address of a pornographic site. Fortunately, the site's homepage is simple and does not show any sensitive images. We can just see, in the blurred background, a few stars from the pornographic production company. Nothing that could traumatize a young girl or boy.
The fact remains that for Mattel, which would have liked to write WickedMovie.com (the real address of the film), it is a small blunder which could have cost a lot – especially in the United States where the slightest frustration of a consumer can end in class action. According to the Guardian, Mattel hastened to communicate its apologies: “ We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate steps to remedy it. Parents are advised that the incorrect website printed in error is not suitable for children. Consumers who already own the product are advised to discard the packaging or hide the link, and they can contact Mattel customer service for more information », We can read in a press release.
Dolls sold on the web can no longer be purchased, but those sold on store shelves will take time to be removed. Not to mention all those that have already been sold and packaged to end up under the Christmas trees.
In France, the film will be released on December 4, 2024.
