This is why the world needs copy editors.
Due to an unfortunate typo, Mattel‘s line of Wicked-themed dolls — in the likeness of stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande — is NSFW.
According to social media users who first sounded the alarm online, the toys’ boxes feature a webpage link that is supposed to direct consumers to a hub for the film, which is WickedMovie.com. However, the box instead lists only the former word, which directs users to a platform requiring an 18+ verification.
That website links to the porn site of Wicked Pictures, an independent adult film company founded in 1993. According to previous reporting, Wicked was where famed porn star Jenna Jameson got her start. Additionally, the company was somewhat a focal point in Donald Trump’s criminal case in New York, since it was at a company-sponsored celebrity golf tournament where the president-elect met Stormy Daniels, who was working at the event to promote the porn studio.
The error has since circulated across numerous Reddit pages and seems to be present on boxes containing characters like Elphaba (played by Erivo in the film) and Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero. A since-archived Mattel webpage featuring instructions for the dolls also contains the error.
Videos online show the error in stores like Target, and eBay’s stock now takes note of the typo.
“The official Mattel Wicked dolls link to a porn site on the box,” wrote one user alongside sobbing face emojis. Reactions from people online ranged from admonishing the popular toy brand for the error, as it’s likely that children will mostly be purchasing the products, to poking fun at whoever at the company is likely to be thrown under the bus for the mistake.
Wicked, from director Jon M. Chu, retells the story of The Wizard of Oz from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West, following Elphaba and Glinda the Good Witch’s (Grande) relationship prior to their eventual destinies. It is an adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway production, itself based on Gregory Maguire’s bestselling novel of the same name. It is due for release in theaters Nov. 22 and had its Los Angeles premiere yesterday.
Mattel has yet to comment on the matter.
