Cynthia Erivo, who is playing Elphaba in the upcoming Wicked movie, took to Instagram earlier this month to share her disdain and frustration surrounding a recent fan edit of the official Wicked movie poster. After the movie poster caused some uproar on social media for differing from the original Broadway poster, a fan on X edited the movie poster so it would look like the Broadway version.
The edits included adding a red lipstick smirk onto Elphaba, making the background brighter, adjusting Glinda’s hand, and covering Elphaba’s eyes with her witch’s hat. The post received a lot of love for looking more similar to the original version.
Cynthia Erivo Responds
Erivo did not have the same reaction. She posted the original movie poster and the edited one side-by-side on her story with a statement.
“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful AI of us fighting, equal to people posing the question ‘is your ***** green,'” she wrote. “None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us. The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION. I am a real life human being, who chose to look right down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer… because without words we communicate with our eyes. Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.”
Some users on social media praised Erivo for this post, believing she had every right to be angry, but others were not so impressed. Many criticized Erivo for overreacting to the edit and accused her of creating unnecessary drama, as the edits to the poster were not intended to be offensive. Meanwhile, the meme Erivo is referencing of Glinda whispering in Elphaba’s ear, “is your ***** green?” is a recreation of a viral meme that refers to graffiti that had been written on a Wicked advertising poster back in 2014. It has no personal tie to either her or Ariana Grande, who is playing Glinda in the upcoming Wicked movie.
Ariana Grande Weighs In
Grande has also made a statement regarding the edited poster. In an interview with Variety, when asked about her reaction, she said, “I think it is very complicated because I find AI so conflicting and troublesome sometimes, but I think it is just a massive adjustment period and this is so much bigger than us and the fans are gonna have fun and make their edits. But of course, I think sometimes [it goes too far.] And I have so much respect for my sister Cynthia and love her so much. It is just a big adjustment period”
A History of Controversy
This isn’t Erivo’s first online controversy. Back in 2019, Erivo faced backlash for her casting as Harriet Tubman in the movie Harriet. Some believed that the role should have been given to an African American actress rather than Erivo, who is from England, because there is a specific plight that American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) understand that is vital to the portrayal of figures like Harriet Tubman. This debate resurfaced several of Erivo’s tweets from years past where she had mocked African American culture and insinuated her lack of respect for Black Americans. Both that controversy and the current edit drama have created a tense relationship between Erivo and the public.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Erivo addressed her reaction to the edited poster, sharing that it came from “a human moment of wanting to protect Elphaba.” She chalked up the response to her passion for the role and admitted she could have paused before posting. “I probably should’ve called my friends,” she said, “but it’s fine.”
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