Wicked Star Cynthia Erivo Rages Over Fan-Edited Wicked Poster
It’s not just Marvel and Star Wars fans who get insulted by Hollywood figures for caring about the things they’re expected to spend money supporting. Wicked, the movie adaptation of the hit Broadway play – which is an adaptation of a book called Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire – will arrive in theaters next month. (Actually, Wicked is going to be two movies, with the first releasing next month and the second a year later.) Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz that follows Galinda, who eventually becomes Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and Elphaba, who will become the Wicked Witch of the West, while they’re in college (seriously?) and presents Elphaba in a sympathetic light, essentially blaming everyone else for her becoming the Wicked Witch of the West because this is the only thing anyone knows how to do with villains anymore. The movie poster, which you can see below, features Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Galinda:
That poster is an homage to the famous poster from the Broadway show, which featured the witches in the same pose, albeit with Elphaba’s head turned down, her face kept obscured by the Wicked Witch’s infamous black hat:
After the movie’s poster was released, a fan redesigned it so that it looked more like the poster from the play, with the hat turned down and Elphaba’s eyes hidden:
If you think that’s a harmless tribute to a beloved play made by a loyal fan, you clearly need Hollywood to strap you into a chair and give you the full Clockwork Orange treatment because you’re clearly a bigot… or normal; one or the other. Elphaba actress Cynthia Erivo saw the fan-made poster, and she let loose on Instagram with a self-righteous tirade that stopped just short of accusing Wicked fans of racism, which I suppose shows unusual restraint for a Hollywood person (via The Today Show):
How do these people even get up in the morning? If something like this offends you, it must be impossible to get through the day. Nobody was trying to insult Cynthia Erivo or her super-serious acting in that poster. They were just remembering the poster for the play – which, by the way, is better because it makes the Wicked Witch of the West look more sinister, setting up her turn to evil. The movie poster doesn’t say that; it’s just one woman whispering to a second woman, who stares ahead blankly. Much like Cynthia Erivo herself, the movie poster is no fun, while the poster from the Broadway show is playful. Some fan tried to have fun with the movie based on the play they love, and Erivo made it clear that is not acceptable, and everyone has to be as miserable as she is. I’m not going to pretend there was a chance in hell I was going to watch Wicked, but do you think anyone who was considering it is more inclined to see it now? Rationally, this has nothing to do with the movie itself, but it puts a bad taste in people’s mouths, and it makes the movie sound like a chore rather than a fun experience for musical fans, which is what it should be. Moreover, I’m sure a lot of people saw the fan-edited poster and enjoyed it, and Cynthia Erivo just insulted them all. I wouldn’t blame them for returning the favor and skipping the movie. Are these people ever going to learn that it’s a mistake to antagonize the audience? Or are they going to keep asking each other to hold whatever it is they drink instead of beer and launch a new volley of hate against the people whose business they need? These entitled, sanctimonious divas are turning the audience against them before anyone even knows their names.
Let us know what you think of Cynthia Erivo’s distaste for fan-edited posters in the comments!
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