Cynthia Erivo slams edited ‘Wicked’ poster and other forms of online harassment

Cyntia Erivo is not a fan of the fan-made art inspired by her upcoming musical “Wicked.”

After photos emerged of a fan-modified version of the official movie poster, edited to cover Erivo’s face, very like the duvet of the unique Broadway Playbill, Erivo had strong words for its creators.

“This is the wildest and most offensive thing I have ever seen, comparable to the horrible AI of our fight, equal to people asking the question, ‘Is your ***** green,’” she wrote within the caption of a post sent to her. Instagram Stories on Wednesday, October 16, People Magazine reported. “None of this is funny. None of this is sweet. This humiliates me. It humiliates us.”

She added: “The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION. I am a real person who decided to look straight into the barrel of the camera, at you, the viewer… because without words we communicate through our eyes.”

Although the edited version was edited to appear like the unique Playbill, the actress explained, “Our poster is an homage, not an imitation.”

She continued: “Editing my face and hiding my eyes is erasing me. And it’s just deeply painful.”

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Reactions to Erivo’s response were mixed online, with some siding along with her and agreeing that the changes were disrespectful at best and a potentially racist removal at worst. There are also those that imagine it could have been an unintentional slight, considering how long “Wicked” has enjoyed a large and deep-rooted cult following. It’s possible that the creator just wanted a movie poster for his Playbill and didn’t try to incorporate any deeper commentary.

Regardless, Erivo notes that a movie poster shouldn’t be intended to serve the identical purpose as a playbill. Posters and playbills for Broadway shows are sometimes illustrations and sometimes even the show’s logo since the solid is continuously changing. The complete solid of a movie won’t ever change, so there is no point in obscuring the faces of anybody solid member – especially in the event that they’re each established stars.

Erivo also has nothing fallacious with being defensive, given the frequent backlash from black women in high-profile adaptations. Earlier this 12 months, actress Francesca Amewudah-Rivers faced backlash online after announcing she had been solid within the Jamie Lloyd Company’s Romeo and Juliet opposite Tom Holland. And let’s not forget Halle Bailey’s harsh response after it was announced that she had been solid within the live-action remake of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”

Finally, Erivo retweeted the film’s director, Jon M. Chu, a repost of the actual movie poster with the caption, “Let me put this here to remind you and cleanse your palette.”

Erivo stars alongside Ariana Grande within the highly anticipated film adaptation of the Broadway musical, originally based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel of the identical name. “Wicked” in cinemas from November 22.