Countless first looks and promos have been circulating online after anticipation has been mounting for the long-awaited November release of the Wicked musical film adaption.
Among the slew of memes shared on social media was a fan-made manipulated image featuring the film star Cynthia Erivo depicted in a manner that the actor found highly "offensive," and it's polarizing the internet.
Earlier this month, the studio released a movie poster of Wicked's leading ladies recreating the famous Broadway illustrated poster of Galinda whispering into Elphaba's ear.
Unlike the original poster, the film version presented the characters so the actors are recognizable.
Here are the juxtaposed images shared by Pop Base.
However, a riff on the iconic image for the movie poster posted to the Instagram account @wickedfansmexico showed pop star Ariana Grande as Galinda and Erivo as Elphaba.
For those who might not be cognizant of the film's stars, you wouldn't be able to identify the actor concealed beneath the brim of Elphaba's iconic cone-shaped hat.
Erivo, who won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the Color Purple revival on Broadway, was furious about the adjusted image and she took to her Instagram story to speak out against the manipulated art, writing:
“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful Ai [sic] of us fighting, equal to people posing the question ‘Is your pu**y green.’"
She continued:
"None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us."
"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…because, without words we communicate with our eyes."
Erivo added that the Wicked movie's poster was "an homage, not an imitation" and that "to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me."
She concluded by saying it was "deeply hurtful."
@cynthiaerivo/Instagram
Her comments sparked much debate online.
Many social media users found the edited image came from a place of levity rather than being "offensive."
Users also referred to her "Is your p***y green?" meme, explaining that Galinda's question to Elphaba originated from graffiti scrawled on the Broadway show's poster, according to Know Your Meme.
Some compassionate users tried to see it from her perspective.
Based on characters from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked musical is an origin story loosely based on the novel of the same name written by Gregory Maguire in 1995.
The Wicked musical features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman.
The Jon M. Chu-helmed Wicked movie, which is part of a two-part film adaptation, also stars Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage in supporting roles.
Wicked is scheduled to be released on November 22, 2024, followed by Wicked Part Two to be released on November 21, 2025.
