Cynthia Erivo explains her reaction to fan-edited images.
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)
It turns out there's nothing like a good poster design debate to help promote a new movie. There are still a few weeks to go until the Wicked movie finally reaches cinema screens, but the Wicked poster design controversy is keeping the film in the headlines.
Cynthia Erivo, who plays the Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the film, has now aimed to play down her reaction to fans' attempts to 'fix' the poster design, but the saga goes on (see our lessons to be learned from the Wicked poster controversy).
For anyone who's somehow missed all the fuss, it's all to do with the main poster for the film and its deviation from the poster from the Wicked stage show. Like the original poster, the design for the movie shows the two main characters: Elphaba and Glinda. But unlike the stage show's poster, their faces are clearly visible.
That inevitably led some fans to take matters into their own hands and to 'fix' the poster design by covering up the stars' faces. Actress Cynthia Erivo was not impressed. She hit out on Instagram describing the amateur poster designs as "the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen equal to that awful AI." She went on to say: "None of this is funny, none of this is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us" and that "To edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me, and that is just deeply hurtful."
Cynthia's comments haven't stopped more edited versions of the poster from being shared on social media. She's now explained her reaction after being asked about the matter on the red carpet at the CFDA Fashion Awards. She told Entertainment Tonight by saying she felt protective of the character she plays.
“I’m passionate about it and I know the fans are passionate about it and I think for me it was just like a human moment of wanting to protect little Elphaba. ” She added: “I probably should have called my friends, but it’s fine.”
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Wicked will be released on 22 November in the US and UK and on 21 or 22 November in various other countries.
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
