Cynthia Erivo criticizes 'wild, most offensive' edited 'Wicked' movie poster, says it is deeply hurtful

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Cynthia Erivo took to social media to express her frustration after a fan account edited the poster for the upcoming 'Wicked' movie musical.

The actress stars as Elphaba alongside Ariana Grande as Glinda in the highly-anticipated film.

However, a fan altered the movie’s poster to mimic the original Broadway poster, which did not sit well with Erivo.

Cynthia Erivo slams fan-made 'Wicked' poster edits, says 'it degrades us'

Cynthia Erivo didn't hold back in her criticism of the altered poster which was shared on TikTok by a user named Ferlozar.

The video on TikTok, which has been seen by millions, captioned “Fixing the Wicked movie poster,” showed the fan making adjustments to the film's official poster to more closely resemble the Broadway version, The Wrap noted.

The main edit involved shadowing Erivo’s eyes and changing her lips to red, much like the musical’s Playbill. Interestingly, there were minor changes made to Ariana Grande’s appearance.

“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen,” Cynthia Erivo wrote on her October 16 Instagram Story, sharing the doctored poster.

She compared the edit to inappropriate questions she's received about her green skin in the film.

“None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us," she posted.

Cynthia Erivo addresses disrespect towards her portrayal, says 'we communicate with our eyes'

In her Instagram post, Cynthia Erivo further explained why she found the edits offensive, emphasizing the difference between the film and the musical versions of 'Wicked'.

She noted that the fan edit took away a critical part of her portrayal by hiding her eyes.

“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 said.

She clarified that the film’s poster is meant as an homage to the original, not a direct imitation.

“To edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful,” added Cynthia.

Cynthia later posted the official movie poster on her Instagram with the caption, “Let me put this right here to remind you and cleanse your palette,” accompanied by two green hearts.

Internet reacts to Cynthia Erivo's response, says 'fan edit looks better'

After Cynthia Erivo shared her thoughts on the matter, users on social media platforms like X reacted to her comments, with many feeling the edits were harmless.

“I can see why she took offense but I fear none of these meant no harm and were just made to further promote the movie,” wrote one user on X.

Another chimed in, “Ma’am no one is disrespecting you. The photo was edited to look like the original. That’s it, that’s all.”

Others, however, were more critical of Cynthia Erivo’s response. “It’s not that deep girl,” one user commented.

Another added, “If that’s the most offensive thing she’s ever seen, good for her she has had a great life.”

Some users even preferred the fan-made version, with one person stating, “The fan edit looks better though… it added an element of mystery to the green witch and is more accurate to how the story goes.”

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.