Cynthia Erivo is speaking out against “Wicked” fans who used Photoshop to edit a recent poster for the upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical. Warner Bros. released a “Wicked” movie poster this month that is reminiscent of the original Broadway poster, with Ariana Grande’s Glinda whispering in Erivo’s Elphaba’s ear. Only a few changes were made to the movie poster, mainly raising Elphaba’s hat so you could see Erivo’s eyes.
“Wicked” fans loyal to the Broadway musical flooded social media after the release of a Photoshopped correction of the poster, which lowered Elphaba’s hat and applied a bold red lipstick to her lips so the movie one-sheet would exactly match the Broadway one. Erivo found such changes hurtful.
“This is the wildest, most outrageous thing I’ve seen, on par with the horrible AI we fight, asking people questions like ‘Is your p—- green?’” Erivo wrote on her Instagram Story, sharing one of the photoshopped “Wicked” posters that covered her face. “None of this is funny. None of this is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us.
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“The original poster is a depiction,” Erivo said. “Without words, we communicate with our eyes. I am a real-life human who has chosen to look into the camera at you, the viewer. Our poster is a tribute, not an imitation, editing out my face and hiding my eyes is erasing me. And that’s deeply saddening.”
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In addition to the poster, Erivo also highlighted the viral AI-generated video that featured the poster in a fight between the two stars/characters. The actor also criticized the infamous “Is your p– green?” memes that have been circulating around the musical for a long time. Universal and director Jon M. Chu has adapted the “Wicked” Broadway musical into a two-part film, the first part of which will hit theaters next month. The musical is set at Shiz University in Australia, where Elphaba and Glinda become roommates and unlikely friends. The film’s supporting cast also includes Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, and Bowen Yang. The Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated actress plays Elphaba (who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West) in the upcoming movie musical, while co-star Ariana Grande, a Grammy-winning and SAG Award-nominated actress, plays Glinda (who becomes the good witch). “Our poster is a tribute, not an imitation, editing out my face and hiding my eyes is erasing me. And that’s deeply hurtful,” Erivo wrote on her social media page. She left no doubt that she was deeply hurt by the fake movie poster.
“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I’ve seen, the equivalent of us fighting with that horrible AI, the equivalent of people posting ‘are you green’ questions. None of it is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us,” Erivo argued.
She and Grande star in Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the Tony-winning musical Wicked, which hits theaters Nov. 22. Universal Pictures referred The Hollywood Reporter to comment on Erivo’s Instagram Story post.
“Wicked” from Universal Pictures Nov. 22
