‘Wicked’ star Cynthia Erivo recently shared her thoughts on her earlier criticism of a fan-made poster for the movie.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Erivo explained that her reaction was driven by her passion for her character. She said that she was being protective of the role and called her response a ‘human moment.’ “It wasn’t necessarily a clapback,” she admitted. “I think I’m really protective of the role and I am passionate about it, and I know that the fans are passionate about it. I think for me, it was just like a human moment of wanting to protect little Elphaba. I probably should have called my friends.”
The viral poster was created using AI and aimed to make the movie’s promotional material look more like the original Broadway poster. Erivo’s eyes were a part of the original poster — she was looking directly at the camera. This was a creative choice Erivo made to connect with the audience, but the AI-made one covered her eyes.
Erivo responded strongly by calling the fan-made edit ‘offensive’ and ‘deeply harmful.’ She explained that she felt the edit was disrespectful as it altered an important element of the promotional image.
Erivo received both backlash from some fans and support from her co-star Ariana Grande. Grande noted that it’s a complicated situation due to a possible misunderstanding between fans and Erivo.
Some fans criticized Erivo’s comments, but others supported her right to express her feelings. The fan who made the poster also responded, saying that Erivo’s emotions were valid but their intention was not to upset her — they simply wanted to make the poster look more like the Broadway version.
Early projections for ‘Wicked’ suggest that this controversy won’t have a big impact on the film’s success. Presale tickets are already doing well, and the movie is expected to make between $100 to $120 million during its opening weekend in November.
