Mattel was sued on Tuesday by a South Carolina mom for mistakenly placing a hyperlink to a pornographic web site on packaging for dolls tied to the blockbuster film “Wicked.”
In a proposed class motion filed in federal court docket in Los Angeles, Holly Ricketson mentioned she purchased a “Wicked” doll for her daughter, who then visited an grownup leisure web site by the hyperlink supplied by the toymaker.
Ricketson mentioned her daughter confirmed her hardcore images from the web site and each had been “horrified” by what they noticed, struggling emotional misery.
The plaintiff mentioned she wouldn’t have purchased the doll had she recognized of the error, and Mattel has not provided refunds regardless of recalling the dolls on Nov. 11.
Mattel didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark, however has expressed remorse for the error.
The El Segundo, California-based toymaker had meant to hyperlink purchasers to the WickedMovie.com web site, to not a equally named web site for folks no less than 18 years previous.
Mattel recommends the dolls for youngsters aged 4 and up.
Tuesday’s lawsuit seeks no less than $5 million of damages for anybody in the US who purchased “Wicked” dolls whose packaging included the errant hyperlink.
It accuses Mattel of negligence, promoting merchandise unfit on the market, and violating California shopper safety legal guidelines.
Different merchandise from Mattel embrace Barbie and Sizzling Wheels.
“Wicked,” from Common Footage, stars Cynthia Arivo and Ariana Grande.
It has grossed $263.2 million in the US and $360.3 million worldwide since its Nov. 22 launch, in response to Field Workplace Mojo.
The case is Ricketson v Mattel Inc, U.S. District Courtroom, Central District of California, No. 24-10389.
