"Memes have always existed": Cynthia Erivo's strong reaction to altered Wicked poster ignites fan debate
Cynthia Erivo took to her Instagram story on October 16 to express her disappointment with a fan recreation of the Wicked poster. In the fan recreation, the poster for the Wicked film is slightly edited to make it look closer to the original poster of the stage musical, and it sees the eyes of Erivo's Elphaba Thropp covered by her hat.
Cynthia Erivo took to social media to call the poster the "wildest, most offensive thing" she has ever seen. Saying that the poster "degrades" her, Erivo compared it to an AI gif of Thropp and Ariana Grande's Glinda Upland fighting, which included a caption with a crude comment about the character. In her Instagram story, Erivo added,
"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,
"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.."
However, fans then commented on Erivo's Instagram story, saying it was just a fan recreation of the original poster and was "not that serious."
"Maybe i'm going to sound mean, but cynthia needs to chill out because it's not that serious, memes have always existed," expressed one fan on X.
"Think Cynthia Erivo is a once-in-a-generation talent. I also think she needs to have a seat and calm the f**k down. She is playing a green person in a fantasy movie. It ain't that serious," said another fan.
"Why is cynthia erivo posting like she’s actually elphaba," added another fan.
"If this is the most offensive thing you have ever seen I have to figure it's also the first thing you have ever seen," said another fan.
Some fans even proceeded to call out Erivo for posting other edits of the Wicked poster and not taking an issue with it.
"An edit that "erases" who you are because they put red lipstick on you and covered your eyes. super offensive. // An edit of you in a war (massaaccreee) we have every day in the REAL LIFE. NO offensive," added another fan.
"So memes are okay when she posts it? what about people in war?" said another fan.
Cynthia Erivo's Wicked releases in theatres on November 22, 2024
The upcoming film Wicked is the first part of a two-part release. Directed by Jon M. Chu, the film is an on-screen adaptation of the classic stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz, which was also an adaptation of the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire.
The first film will take fans back to the Land of Oz and tell the first half of the story. It will see Elphaba studying at Shiz University and forming a friendship with Glinda before becoming the Wicked Witch of the West. The second film will be released on November 21, 2025.
The film stars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, and more. Stay tuned for further updates on the film.
