A mother and her little daughter, who were allegedly exposed to extreme pornographic images by following the website on the packaging of a “Wicked” doll, have filed a lawsuit against toy maker Mattel seeking US$5 million in damages .
On Tuesday, American Holly Ricketson of South Carolina reportedly went to court to file a formal lawsuit against Barbie maker Mattel after her daughter accessed a pornographic site mistakenly listed on the packaging of her “Wicked” doll, Reuters reported Wednesday.
In the court document filed in federal court in Los Angeles, the instigator of the class action indicated that she herself purchased the doll from the official collection of the musical “Wicked” for her daughter before Mattel carried out a reminder last November 11.
Because instead of directing customers to the official website of the film adaptation, the hyperlink mistakenly written on the back of the box would have instead led the little girl to a pornographic site, where she would have witnessed extreme images, according to the pursuit.
Mother and daughter were reportedly “horrified” by the content of the images, so much so that they are suing Mattel for at least US$5 million in damages for the emotional distress caused.
Having known, the mother would never have purchased the doll in the first place, the suit said, especially since Mattel would not have offered any refund when recalling the dolls, according to Reuters.
“We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate steps to remedy it. Parents are informed that the poorly printed and incorrect website is not suitable for children,” the company said in a press release, inviting parents to throw away the packaging or hide the link.
If the recall mainly concerned dolls sold in the United States, they were quickly removed from shelves in Quebec, “Le Journal” noted.
