Actress Cynthia Erivo shed light on her decision to address a fan-edited version of the Wicked film poster that blocked out her face.

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight (ET) on the red carpet of the 2024 CFDA Fashion Awards on Oct. 29, the 37-year-old Hollywood star expressed that she has been incredibly ”protective” of her portrayal of the iconic Elphaba Thropp, the beloved green-skinned witch from Wicked.

“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,” the star told ET while standing next to designer Zac Posen. “I probably should have called my friends, but it’s fine.”

 

2024 CFDA Awards - Arrivals

Source: Taylor Hill / Getty

 

Erivo took to Instagram and criticized the AI-generated poster earlier this month.

On Oct. 16, Erivo took to her Instagram Story to criticize a fan-edited version of the Wicked poster that was reportedly generated using artificial intelligence (AI). The fan-created artwork aimed to replicate the iconic illustration design of the original Broadway musical poster, but fell short in Erivo’s eyes, as it obscured and distorted her face.

The actress called it “the wildest, most offensive thing” she had ever seen, according to a screenshot shared by Popbase on X. Erivo added that the poster was “equal to that awful Ai of us fighting, equal to people posing the question ‘is your ***** green?’” She continued, “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.” 

The actress went on to clarify that the new and improved Wicked movie poster “is an homage not an imitation” of the original Broadway show’s poster. “To edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me,” Erivo penned. “And that is just deeply hurtful.”

Fans react to the fan-edited poster on X.

Netizens shared different reactions to Erivo’s response, with some calling her “annoying” and “dramatic” for expressing herself over the seemingly offensive edit of Elphaba. “Ma’am no one is disrespecting you. The photo was edited to look like the original. That’s it, that’s all,” an X user named @Rgowdaw_27 penned.

Other users stepped in to defend the actress, noting that her feelings were “valid.” One supporter commented, “These comments are terrible! Cynthia’s feelings are valid. I don’t want the movie to be a copy/paste of the musical. The movie poster is stunning and shouldn’t be edited to match the musical poster! This person didn’t make any changes to Ariana and that isn’t exact either!!!!”

Wicked is set to hit theaters Nov. 22, featuring Erivo alongside Ariana Grande, who plays the iconic Glinda. The upcoming two-part adaptation also stars Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Bowen Yang, Keala Settle, and Ethan Slater.


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