The fan who created the Wicked poster that was heavily criticized by Cynthia Erivo has spoken out after the star’s recent furious comments.
The release of the official poster for Erivo’s upcoming movie musical Wicked stirred up some controversy after a fan decided to edit it to closer depict the original version of the art used for the stage musical.
For those of you who might not have seen it, the recent release shows Erivo in character as Elphaba looking directly at the camera while Glinda (played by Ariana Grande) is seen whispering in her ear.
The image is very similar to the illustration used to promote the original Broadway musical, although fans were quick to point out certain key differences like Elphaba’s eyes are covered by the brim of her hat, her lips are a bright shade of red, and she is smirking.
Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo recreate the iconic ‘WICKED’ Broadway poster.
However, after a fan decided to edit the image using AI tools, the 37-year-old took to her Instagram Stories to slam it as the “most offensive thing I’ve ever seen.”
“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 said in a statement alongside a repost of the image.
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.
“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,” the star added.
Erivo then followed the statement up with the new release of the poster, with the caption: “Let me put this right here, to remind you and cleanse your palette.”
Now, just days later, the person responsible for the edit has spoken out.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the social media user said: “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,” they continued. “I’ve also seen some people take credit for this and don’t think that’s totally fair so I’m coming out of the woodworks lol.
“While I deleted initially as I felt it was the right thing to do, fan posters have been around for as long as movies have existed.”
They went on to state that they “never meant to cause any harm and the poster is just a homage to the original Broadway poster, just like the movie’s recreation is.”
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!
The statement also clarified that no AI tools were used in the poster’s creation.
“Also, I will say that Cynthia is valid in having her feelings on the matter, and I’m also valid in wanting to keep my version of the poster up as I truly meant no harm with it and just made it as a way to show love for the original. Both can be true,” the X user added.
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The news comes shortly after Erivo’s co-star Ariana Grande also spoke out about the balance of AI tools and its impact on the creative industry.
When asked about the controversy by Variety, Grande responded: “I think it’s very complicated because I find AI so conflicting and troublesome sometimes, but I think it’s just kind of such a massive adjustment period.
“This is something that is so much bigger than us, and the fans are gonna have fun and make their edits,” she added.
When asked if she thinks fans can go “too far”, Grande added: “I think so. And I have so much respect for my sister, Cynthia, and I love her so much.
“It’s just a big adjustment period. It’s so much stimulation about something that’s so much bigger than us,” the singer concluded.
Wicked is set to be released next month.
