The upcoming film adaptation of the iconic musical “Wicked” has recently made headlines, but not for its mesmerizing performances or captivating storyline, but for a fan poster that sparked a heated debate between the cast and fans. The poster (above left), created by an enthusiastic fan, was photo-shopped to feature a slightly different look for the upcoming movie adaptation, one that more closely matches the original Broadway play (above right). Unfortunately, this act of admiration by a zealous fan bizarrely triggered star Cynthia Erivo who threw a fit and accused the fan of trying to “erase her identity” because the new edit obscured her eyes and gave her a smirk – exactly like the musical’s poster.
A fan posted a TikTok video that compares the two posters and shows the edits being made. Erivo — who plays the green-skinned witch, Elphaba, based on the Wicked Witch of the West from the classic “Wizard of Oz” movie — is given red lips and a dark shadow over her eyes from her wide-brimmed witch hat, to more closely match the original poster from the play. Ariana Grande’s hand was also raised to more closely match the poster. The LA Times reported how this alteration sparked wild accusations from the film’s star on Instagram.
“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen,” Erivo said in an Instagram story, posting the edited version of the poster and calling it degrading.
“The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION. I am a real life human being,” she said, arguing she made an artistic choice to stare down the camera straight to the viewer.
“[W]ithout words we communicate with our eyes,” she said.
“Our poster is an homage not an imitation,” Erivo wrote. “[T]o edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.”
Erivo’s overreaction to the fan poster has backfired tremendously, and reveals a double standard common among those in Hollywood. You see, the fan poster was created by someone who obviously loved the musical and was excited for the movie adaptation. The poster was made as a tribute to the musical, so the correct response from anyone involved with the movie was to reshare the poster and praise fans of Wicked. This simple response would have built up hype.
Instead, the old adage “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything” comes to mind.
Cynthia Erivo’s unnecessary scolding of a true fan sadly reveals that she sees everything through the lens of identity politics, because she interpreted this fan’s excitement as a personal offense. She followed that up by reposting the original image, saying, “Let me put this right here to remind you and cleanse your palate in reality,” but in reality, all she achieved was to ensure that no one will ever look at that poster again without being reminded of how she accused the fans of offending her. And it’s all right there in her eyes.
Surprisingly among those who did not take kindly to Cynthia Erivo’s accusation against the fan was John Campea, who said: “She’s going to be perfect in this role. This movie is going to be so much fun, and the big pre-this big positive wave of energy and momentum has been going the ticket pre-sales; trailers have been great. We’re getting closer to the release date. Nothing can stop the ‘Wicked’ train, except maybe the people driving the ‘Wicked’ train.”
Wicked Star Cynthia Erivo Attacks Fans Over Simple Poster Edit
He continued, “In one of the biggest exhibits of stupidity I’ve seen exhibited by a movie star in a while, as far as self-sabotage and killing the vibe of your own movie, ‘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.’ I’m calling bullshit on so many levels of this nonsense. First of all, I want you to recognize the tone of this. The tone of this is, “Wicked is not your thing.” Everybody, “Wicked is not a thing that you have loved and that you have embraced and that you have gone to see time and time again, long before I ever had this role.” It’s mine! Wicked is about me! This is my movie! And all you little nerdlings out there, best damn respect that this is my movie! I don’t give a shit about the classic look of the poster, and I don’t give a shit if you do not get it. You’re erasing me!” Campea crowed.
Cynthia Erivo out of costumeJohn Campea’s sentiment on this topic is one many fans of Marvel and Star Wars, in particular, will agree with. As André Einherjar of Midnight’s Edge points out, this kind of incident should make Campea more sympathetic towards other fan bases who have been similarly accused and scolded for no reason, but he knows it won’t because of how it’s become a trope for franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and many others. As is typical, even in the LA Times article linked above, they side with Erivo, against the fan, and it is the same with the entirety of the entertainment media complex. Anytime the fans say or do something the creators or anyone involved in the project are offended by, it’s taken as an attack and the mainstream Hollywood press cheers this on by labelling the fans “toxic.”
André also points out that there’s no difference between what Cynthia Erivo did here and The Acolyte’s star doing a dis track on Star Wars fans, or Ewan McGregor’s video scolding Star Wars fans on Moses Ingram’s behalf. Only this time, the blanket accusation is aimed at another fan base that the Hollywood crowd feels closer aligned with, so now it’s gauche. But in truth, this scenario is no different from any previous misguided attack on the fans, but unlike most accusations, this one actually has receipts; the poster and the actress’ public hissy fit.
Amandla Stenberg before the cringeThe term “toxic” gets thrown at fans a lot these days, but it would appear that this is more about projection than anything. More often it’s the creators and sometimes the talent that are toxic, and this is what Bleeding Fool has been saying for years. Hollywood frequently, and intentionally, creates divisive content with an ideological slant that normal people and long time fans find abhorrent, and then they project their own toxicity upon the fans when the fans rightfully reject the slop they’re being served.
It’s about time Campea, Grace Randolph, and many others of the Hollywood mindset get a little taste of what they themselves have been party to doing to fans whenever fans try to complain that things should have been handled a bit differently. This goes for the comic book industry as well. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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