South Carolina Woman Files Lawsuit Over “Wicked” Dolls with Link to Adult Site

Ryan J. Farrick — December 6, 2024

A gavel. Image via Wikimedia Commons via Flickr/user: Brian Turner. (CCA-BY-2.0).

Attorneys for the family say that the plaintiff’s daughter was “shocked” to discover that the website listed on the packaging “had nothing to do with the Wicked Doll.” Instead, she ended up viewing “scenes of pornographic advertisements across her phone screen.”

A South Carolina woman has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Mattel, which released a line of “Wicked”-themed dolls with the address for a pornographic website printed on their packaging.

According to FOX Business, the plaintiff filed her claim after purchasing a “Wicked” doll for her underage daughter. The woman says that her daughter tried to visit the website, “wicked.com,” which hosts a collection of adult-oriented material, including pay-per-view pornographic movies and live sex shows. The correct domain should have been “wickedmovie.com.”

Attorneys for the family say that the woman’s daughter was “shocked” to discover that the website listed on the packaging “had nothing to do with the Wicked Doll.” Instead, she ended up viewing “scenes of pornographic advertisements across her phone screen.”

“Plaintiff and consumers did not know, and did not have a reason to know, that the Products purchased would contain access to such an inappropriate web link given that product was advertised for ages 4 years and above,” the lawsuit alleges.

Gavel resting on open book; image by verkeorg, via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, no changes.

Court documents indicate that the scenes included “hardcore, full on nude pornographic images depicting actual intercourse.” These scenes no longer appear on the “wicked.com” homepage, which requires visitors to affirm that they are age 18 or over before they can view content.

“Plaintiff’s minor daughter immediately showed her mother the photographs and both were horrified by what they saw,” the lawsuit alleges. “If plaintiff had been aware of such an inappropriate defect in the product, she would not have purchased it.”

The lawsuit seeks compensation of up to $5 million for emotional distress, among other damages. If it is certified as a class action, then other persons who purchased the affected “Wicked” dolls could be entitled to compensation.

The misprint, notes FOX-59, began attracting attention in November after an Indiana man purchased the doll for a relative and found the link to have been inappropriate for the gift’s intended recipient.

A spokesperson for Mattel has since said that, while the company does not comment on pending litigation, it has recalled the dolls.

“The Wicked Dolls have returned for sale with correct packaging at retailers online and in stores to meet the strong consumer demand for the products,” the spokesperson said.

“The previous misprint on the packaging in no way impacts the value or play experience provided by the product itself in the limited number of units sold before the correction,” they said. “We express our gratitude to our consumers and retailers for their understanding and patience while we worked to remedy the issue.”