Mattel accidentally printed a hilariously inappropriate link on its ‘Wicked’ Barbie packaging and this is not what Glinda would’ve wanted

In news that would send Glind the Good Witch into a tizzy, Mattel has mistakenly printed a NSFW link on the packaging of its Wicked–inspired Barbie dolls. 

It’s a version of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie that absolutely no one asked for, and it was uncovered when purchasers of the doll — modeled after Ariana Grande’s incarnation of Glinda in the anticipated musical adaptation — followed a URL printed on the back of the package. Movie musical fans eager to get a taste of the movie, which co-stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, got more than they bargained for when the link asked if they were aged 18 years or older. 

It appears Mattel, who collaborated with Wicked production company Universal, accidentally listed the URL Wicked.Com, instead of the film’s official domain of WickedMovie.com. The former is a pornographic site with a description touting its “commitment to producing quality parody porn movies.” While Wicked itself is not parodied on the site (yet), Wicked.com does have X-rated spoofs of Captain Marvel and Black Widow. Fittingly for a female-led film like Wicked, the NSFW site is for same-sex attracted women, so there are no scarecrows or tin men in sight.  

While the dollmakers have since responded to the misprinted link, the damage had already been done. Scores of Wicked-inspired Barbies are currently being sold at Target, Amazon, and Kohl’s, and many buyers promptly took to social media to express their shock and frustration about the decidedly child-unfriendly mistake. 

“Hey Mattel whoever is responsible for your marketing/packaging for the new official Wicked dolls have made a HUGE mistake,” one user wrote on X, with another demanding that “whoever did this needs to be fired immediately cuz why would they do that knowing that it’s mostly kids buying these dolls.” Much of the online chatter about the incident arose around the Los Angeles premiere of Wicked, which took place over the weekend and saw stars Grande, Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, and Michelle Yeoh take to the fittingly yellow-bricked carpet. 

Responding to the misprint in a press statement, Mattel said they “deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this.” The toymakers advised parents that the link appearing on their Barbie packaging is “not appropriate for children,” and advised those who’ve already purchased the dolls to “discard the product packaging or obscure the link.” It comes a few months after Grande and Erivo shared a video reaction to their first time seeing themselves in Barbie form, with the latter actress saying it was a “dream come true to be realized as Elphaba and Glinda in the form of Sweet Little dolls.”

The Barbie/Wicked fusion (minus the porn), was in full effect at the premiere, as Grande stepped out in a muted pink gown reminiscent of Margot Robbie’s fuschia-splattered press tour. Both Grande and Erivo have received praise for their performances in early reviews of Wicked, with one critic describing the film — a prequel to The Wizard of Oz that originated as a Tony-winning musical — as a cinematic spectacle. Wicked hits cinemas worldwide later this month, but no word yet on when Wicked.com’s inevitable parody of it drops.