The actress posted a sharp statement on social media criticizing the edited poster.
Cynthia Erivo revealed that she “fell out with the internet” after a fan-made edit of a Wicked poster went viral. Erivo, who plays Elphaba in the upcoming film adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical, stars alongside Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey of Bridgerton fame.
As the movie’s release on Friday (November 22) approaches, Universal Studios has been promoting it with a poster featuring Erivo and Grande as their iconic characters. However, a fan’s edited version of the poster gained significant attention, leading to Erivo’s candid remarks on social media.
It didn’t take long before a fan allegedly “fixed” the poster to resemble the iconic illustration from the original Wicked musical. Additionally, an AI-generated video surfaced, depicting Erivo and Grande as Elphaba and Glinda in a fictional fight scene.
Erivo quickly responded, making it clear that she was not amused. She described the edited poster as “the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen,” and added, “None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us.” Her comments reflect her frustration with the fan edits, underscoring the impact such alterations can have on the actors involved.
Erivo went on to explain, “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.”
She emphasized, “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.”
However, Erivo later reflected on her strong reaction, calling it a “little human moment.” She shared with PEOPLE, “Having that passion for what this piece is and loving it so much and knowing how much I want to communicate through Elphaba, that’s probably where that came from.”
Erivo reflected on her reaction, admitting, “And so in my little human moment, I had … I fell out on the internet, when really I should have just picked up my phone and called a friend.”
She continued, “We have these human moments, and me being human and sensitive, I shared something that I think is part of the little girl in me. I realize that there are so many people who love this just as much as I do.”
Erivo shared similar thoughts when speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the 2024 CFDA Fashion Awards on October 28. “I’m passionate about it, and I know the fans are passionate about it, and I think for me it was just like a human moment of wanting to protect little Elphaba, and it was like a human moment,” she said.
