Ariana Grande has spoken out regarding a fan-modified version of the Wicked movie poster that her co-star, Cynthia Erivo, found offensive.
The eagerly awaited film adaptation of the popular Broadway show will be released in two parts, with the first installment arriving next month. Ariana Grande plays Glinda, while Cynthia Erivo portrays Elphaba.
The film’s official poster, which pays tribute to the original musical, features Grande and Erivo. However, some fans were dissatisfied and took it upon themselves to edit the image to fit their vision.
Critics of the poster took issue with the representation of Elphaba’s hat brim, which they felt didn’t accurately reflect the Broadway version. They altered the image to create a more pronounced shadow over Erivo’s face and added red lipstick.
It wasn’t long before Erivo responded to this alteration via social media.
She stated: “This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful AI of us fighting, equal to people posing the question ‘is your ***** green’.
“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.”
“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.”
Grande also commented on the altered version of the poster.
On October 19, at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles, Grande shared her thoughts with Variety, describing the situation as ‘very complicated’.
She elaborated: “Because I find AI so conflicting and troublesome sometimes, but I think it’s just kind of such a massive adjustment period.”
“This is something that is so much bigger than us, and the fans are gonna have fun and make their edits.”
The singer acknowledged that she ‘think[s]’ things can sometimes be taken too far.
Grande concluded: “And I have so much respect for my sister, Cynthia, and I love her so much. It’s just a big adjustment period. It’s so much stimulation about something that’s so much bigger than us.”