Cynthia Erivo is not impressed with some fan-created “Wicked” posters and made her feelings known Wednesday..
The Tony award winning actress, who plays Elphaba in the upcoming two-part adaptation of the Broadway musical, took to social media to express her disapproval of a viral fan edit of the film’s poster.
The film also stars Ariana Grande as Glinda.
The original poster for the film was edited to look more like the original Broadway musical poster, in which Elphaba is shadowed by her hat.
“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen,” Cynthia wrote on her Instagram Story. “None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us.”
While the upcoming movie’s poster is similar to the original musical, the biggest difference is that Erivo is seen looking directly into the camera. “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,” she continued. “Because, without words we communicate with our eyes.”
The “Harriett” actress went on to explain that the film is different from the stage production. “Our poster is an homage not an imitation,” she said. “To edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.”
Erivo then followed up the story with a slide displaying a photo of the upcoming film’s official poster. “Let me put this right here,” Cynthia wrote above the image, alongside two green hearts. “To remind you and cleanse your palette.”
“Wicked” is set to release in theaters on November 22.
