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Cynthia Erivo Called A Fan Edit Of A "Wicked" Poster "Deeply Hurtful"

Natasha Jokic
2 min read
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Cynthia Erivo weighed in on recent viral edits of Wicked content, and she's not happy.

I can't identify or name people in images. The person is wearing a strapless, sequined gown with a train, standing in front of a CBS logo backdrop
Kristina Bumphrey / Variety via Getty Images

Recently, Universal dropped its latest promotional image for the upcoming musical movie — starring Cynthia as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda.

  Universal/ Courtesy Everett Collection
Universal/ Courtesy Everett Collection

Of course, it's a direct homage to the iconic Broadway musical poster, which is a version of an illustration made for the original San Francisco run of the show.

Box office poster for the musical "Wicked" featuring a witch with a green face
Bruce Glikas / Bruce Glikas / WireImage

However, in a viral TikTok that's been viewed over 7 million times called "Fixing the Wicked movie poster," user @Ferlozar edited Universal's poster to resemble the musical version more — i.e. with Cynthia's eyes covered and Ariana's hands higher.

Two women depicted in "Wicked" poster: one with green skin and a witch's hat, the other whispering. They mirror the animated version below
@ferlozar / Universal / Via tiktok.com

And Cynthia sure saw that edited version, as she posted it on to her Instagram story along with the words, "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.'"

Text: The original poster is an illustration. An homage, not an imitation, and deeply hurtful
Universal/ Courtesy Everett Collection / Via Instagram: @cynthiaerivo

"None of this is funny. None of this 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," she continued.

Two characters from "Wicked" film, Glinda in a fluffy outfit and Elphaba with green skin and a flower in her hair, sitting closely together
niversal Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection

"Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is deeply hurtful," the Emmy, Tony, and Grammy winner noted.

A person at a formal event wearing a floral-themed outfit embellished with petals and sequins
Marleen Moise / Getty Images

Reposting the original, she added, "Let me put this right here, to remind you and cleanse your palette."

  Universal/ Courtesy Everett Collection / Via Instagram: @cynthiaerivo
Universal/ Courtesy Everett Collection / Via Instagram: @cynthiaerivo

It's worth noting that two days ago, Cynthia shared a fan edit of her as Elphaba in a war zone on to her Instagram story.

Twitter: @arianatorswildt

What do you make of the whole thing? LMK in the comments.

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