Mattel sued over porn site misprint on Wicked dolls

A South Carolina mother is suing toy company Mattel after it mistakenly printed the address of a pornographic website on the packaging of a doll.

The company released the singing dolls last month ahead of release of the film Wicked, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

Mattel apologised for what it described as an "unfortunate error" and recalled the dolls.

But Holly Ricketson filed a civil lawsuit on Tuesday, claiming she bought the doll for her minor daughter who then visited the adult entertainment website on the packaging.

Her daughter immediately showed her the site featuring "hardcore, full-on nude pornographic images," the lawsuit claims. They were "horrified" by what they saw and suffered emotional distress, her lawyers added.

The court documents say that the pornographic website was an "inexcusable error" which rendered the dolls "unfit for their intended purpose".

They also claim the company has not offered any refunds, despite the error.

Ms Ricketson said she would not have bought the doll had she been aware of the mistake.

The class action lawsuit is seeking $5m (£3.94m) in damages for anyone in the United States who bought the dolls with the error on their packaging.

It also accuses Mattel of negligence, selling products unfit for sale, and violating California consumer protection laws.

The musical Wicked, based on a book inventing the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West, premiered on Broadway in 2003 and has been running on the West End for two decades.

The film adaptation with Ariana Grande playing Galinda and British actor Cynthia Erivo starring as Elphaba was released in the US and UK on 22 November.

According to Box Office Mojo, since its release last month, it has grossed $263.2 million in the United States and $360.3 million worldwide.

Mattel has been approached for comment.