The film, a highly anticipated musical fantasy, is inspired by Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel and L. Frank Baum’s timeless classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900.
The first act of the story delves into Elphaba’s transformation into the Wicked Witch of the West, highlighting her surprising friendship and eventual rivalry with Glinda the Good Witch.
Featuring a talented cast that includes Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathon Bailey, and Ethan Slater, this film is poised to be a significant success.
Recently, a dramatically altered promotional poster for Wicked went viral, prompting Erivo to voice her dissatisfaction with the edit.
However, the fan has now provided their response.
In support of Erivo’s reaction, one fan remarked, “Wow, that fan-edited Wicked poster is outrageous! Cynthia Erivo is right to call it out—it’s incredibly offensive and disrespectful.”
Another supporter commented, “Cynthia had every right to be upset about the Wicked poster, and I think many of you forget that she’s human. Most importantly, it’s her opinion.”
A third supporter noted, “The Wicked poster was never going to be an exact match since it was animated versus live-action, and Cynthia has every right to be upset.”
Conversely, some feel that Erivo has ‘overreacted’ to the edit.
One critic stated, “The musical fans just wanted a poster that matched the original musical poster. It wasn’t a personal attack. I think she’s overreacting to this.”
Another critic added, “Those rabid online Wicked fans were just editing the photo to resemble the musical… She’s overreacted to an astounding degree.”
A different comment pointed out, “Really? They just made the new poster similar to the old one, and the original is a classic.”
Amidst this debate, co-star Ariana Grande shared her perspective, calling the situation “very complicated.”
Speaking to Variety, Grande reflected, “I think it’s very complicated because I find AI to be so conflicting and troublesome at times. But I think it’s also a massive adjustment period. This is something that goes beyond us, and the fans are going to have fun making their edits.”
When asked if she thought fans might sometimes cross a line, Grande replied, “I think so. I have immense respect for my sister, Cynthia, and I love her dearly. It’s just a significant adjustment period. There’s so much stimulation around something that’s much bigger than us.”
The official poster for the Wicked musical showcases Elphaba with her eyes hidden beneath the brim of her hat and bright red lips in a grin. In contrast, the film adaptation features Erivo looking directly at the camera without the striking lip color.
The edited posters circulating online bring the image closer to the original illustration, which obscures Erivo’s face.
Sharing her thoughts about the edited version on her Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), Erivo stated, “This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, comparable to that awful AI of us fighting, equal to people posting the question ‘is your ***** green.’ None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us.”
“The original poster is an illustration, while I am a real-life human being who chose to look directly into the camera at you, the viewer… because we communicate with our eyes without words. Our poster is an homage, not an imitation; editing my face and hiding my eyes is like erasing me. And that is just deeply hurtful.”
Ok so I’ve decided to repost this – the last few days have been wild & have helped me realise that the initial reaction was largely overblown. This is, and always was, an innocent fan edit to pay homage to the original Broadway poster, and there’s nothing wrong with that! pic.twitter.com/XeyWPt2tvF
— 🇵🇸 (@midosommar) October 20, 2024
Now, the creator of the fan-made Wicked poster has responded after Cynthia Erivo shared her thoughts on it.
Expressing their perspective on X (formerly Twitter), they said, “Okay, I’ve decided to repost this— the last few days have been wild and have helped me realize that the initial reaction was largely overblown.”
“This is, and always was, an innocent fan edit meant to pay homage to the original Broadway poster, and there’s nothing wrong with that!”
They also addressed claims about others taking credit for their work, stating, “I’ve seen some people taking credit for this, and I don’t think that’s fair, so I’m coming out of the woodwork, lol.”
They continued, explaining, “While I deleted it initially because I felt it was the right thing to do, fan posters have existed for as long as movies have. I never intended to cause any harm; the poster is simply a homage to the original Broadway poster, just like the movie’s recreation is.”
The creator also emphasized that no AI was used in creating the poster and expressed their desire to keep it online moving forward.
They concluded by stating, “I will also say that Cynthia is valid in her feelings about the matter, and I’m also valid in wanting to keep my version of the poster up. I truly meant no harm with it; I just created it as a way to show love for the original. Both can be true.”
