John M. Chu’s long-awaited movie adaptation of the “Wicked” Broadway show releases Nov. 22, but as advertising and press reaches a fever pitch for the story of the witches of Oz, a bump has appeared in the yellow brick road.
The film is the first in a duology, with “Wicked: Part Two” set to release Thanksgiving of next year. “Wicked” has a star-studded cast, featuring pop star Ariana Grande, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, and “Bridgerton” actor Jonathan Bailey.
On Oct. 9, Universal released a re-creation of the famous “Wicked” Broadway poster on X to announce tickets going on sale for the film. It instantly received criticism, and fans of the musical edited the poster, intending to make it more closely resemble the iconic illustration. In the original, the Wicked Witch of the West’s face is obscured by her hat and merely shows a now-iconic red-lipped smirk, while Glinda the Good’s face is more visible.
One edit in particular moved the witch’s hat to cover the actress’s eyes and edited her lips into a red smirk to be more in line with the original, which upset Erivo, who plays the Wicked Witch.
Erivo took to Instagram, reposting an edit from Oct. 16 by user “wickedmexicofans” that has since been deleted. “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,’” Erivo wrote on her story, referencing several other viral memes surrounding the film. “None of this is funny … it degrades me.”
The Instagram story also read: “Our poster is a homage, not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.”
Anna Vodden, a sophomore in the acting concentration program, said she was okay with Erivo’s response.
“She’s the one in the movie. She’s allowed to have her own thoughts about it,” Vodden said.
Memes ridiculing the star’s claims of erasure quickly appeared on X. One popular joke involved attaching photos of Erivo to unrelated statements in order to “not erase her.”
going to the store y’all want anything
(picture included so as to not erase Cynthia Erivo) pic.twitter.com/OjMCST1JQ3
— michael (@honeymunes) October 16, 2024
Theater fans said they were not surprised by the incident, and many were quick to cite incidents in Erivo’s past.
“According to Twitter information, she’s always been a diva,” said Bianca Simmons, a sophomore majoring in creative media. “This is not new for Broadway fans.”
Several viral posts on X pointed out Erivo’s involvement in past drama, including an incident where a fan cast her as one of the muses, which offended Erivo. One user simply called her the Azealia Banks of Broadway.
“If she doesn’t like what people are doing with her image, I think she’s allowed to feel that way. She’s a great singer … I love her.” Vodden said.
