Cynthia Erivo criticizes a recent fan-edited ‘Wicked’ poster made to look more like the musical version

Elphaba star, Cynthia Erivo, addresses fan-made posters as the film gets ready to hit theaters. Photo Courtesy of MGN

By Addison Brewer-Hay

“Wicked” prepares to take the screen as a new movie musical this fall season. While the original musical poster depicts Glinda whispering to Elphaba who is fully covered by her hat, the movie’s advertisement took a different approach. Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda in the cinematic adaptation, is seen whispering into Cynthia Erivo’s ear with her face fully visible. However, many fans have begun to edit this poster, which has led the star to speak out on how it makes her feel. 

With many sharing the edited poster and commenting that they felt it was better than the original, Erivo came forward stating that this action was the “wildest, most offensive thing I have seen.” As several fans continued to make memes of Elphaba’s anatomy and AI-generating fights between the two lead actresses, Erivo shared further thoughts on the fanbase’s behavior. 

“None of this is funny. None of this is cute,” Erivo expressed. “It degrades me. It degrades us.”

Since speaking out about these actions, the film’s director, Jon M. Chu has re-shared the original poster on his Instagram account and has posted words supporting his star. As the memes begin to die down, fans can attend their fairyland cinematic experience starting November 22.