Wicked: a Barbie packaging error gone wrong

The answer is yes: the link printed on the back of the box led to a pornographic website and, spoiler, the dolls were resold online for over $100

Only this time, according to a website address printed on the back of the box, it wasn’t the meaning many children hoped for as they handled their brand-new Barbie dolls. Or rather, it wasn’t copied and pasted correctly.

The surreal saga involves the toy giant Mattel, which inadvertently printed the web address of a pornographic site on the packaging of its newly launched “Wicked” dolls.

What is “wicked”?

“Wicked,” a movie event starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, is the film version of the Broadway musical “Wicked.” The film opens in theatres everywhere on November 22. In the meantime, a massive amount of merchandise has been produced for the movie, from Rice Krispies Treats to hand lotions and candles—and, naturally, Barbie dolls, too.

A printing error of monumental proportions

But instead of sending those in the US to the website of the Tony Award-winning musical adaptation, information on the special-edition doll packaging pointed users to a website that asked visitors to verify they were 18 years or older to enter. Yes, a porn site. Quite the confusion.

Mattel released a statement to CNN acknowledging the error, stating:

“Mattel was made aware of a printing error on the packaging for the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, which have been sold primarily in the United States, that was supposed to take people to the official landing page WickedMovie.com“.

Apologizing for the mistake, the company said it confirmed that the affected packaging has since been pulled from stores.

Despite the recall, many of the mislabeled packages have surfaced online, and they resell for more than $100.

It’s the market, my sweet doll. The pressing question now is, what happened to the guy responsible for this “porn-tastic” blunder?