If you're already fatigued by the sheer amount of brand deals the new Wicked film adaptation has gotten, here's some sweet vindication. Mattel has had to pull its cash-grab dolls from the shelves after accidentally putting a porn site's URL on the box.
Dolls modelled after Ariana Grande's Glinda and Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba had packaging that listed wicked.com as the movie's website instead of wickedmovie.com. A copy editor may very well be out of a job now, as wicked.com leads to a site of "Cinematic and Parody Porn Movies."
Since the internet discovered the blunder, Mattel has issued a statement to the Associated Press, saying, "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."
Visiting the site — for journalistic purposes only — led to the realization that it's a subscription-based service, so at least no real porn shows up, just a couple of suggestive film posters. Exclaim! will not be spending money on this research pursuit, so there's no telling whether or not there's a Wicked parody available. What a shame!
Wicked — sans James Corden — hits theatres on November 22.