Actor Cynthia Erivo, who stars as Elphaba in the upcoming "Wicked" adaptation, has spoken out about fan-made posters of the film, saying that the recreations were "deeply hurtful."
Earlier this month Fans took to editing the latest poster for the "Wicked" film. The movie's official poster pays tribute to the famous illustrated design from the original Broadway musical. It differs by depicting Elphaba with her hat raised, revealing her eyes, and featuring green lips instead of red. The fan-edited version appears to make the official poster look more like the original illustration.
While many fans expressed excitement over the recreated poster, which they said was an improvement, Erivo slammed it on her Instagram stories as the "wildest, most offensive thing I have seen."
"Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me," she said. "And that is just deeply hurtful."
Erivo also addressed various "Wicked" memes that have been circulating online, including one with an inappropriate joke about Elphaba's appearance and another featuring an artificial intelligence-generated video showing the two actresses in a fictional fight.
"None of this is funny. None of this is cute," Erivo wrote. "It degrades me. It degrades us."
Film director Jon M. Chu re-shared the official poster on his Instagram stories Wednesday, writing that Erivo is "[his] superhero."
Universal Pictures and Chu have transformed the Broadway hit "Wicked" into a two-part film adaptation, Variety noted. The story, set at Shiz University in the land of Oz, follows the unlikely friendship between Elphaba and Glinda as roommates. The cast features Ariana Grande as Glinda, alongside stars like Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, and Bowen Yang.
The first installment is set to hit theaters on Nov. 22, with the second part scheduled for release in 2025.