Cynthia Erivo has launched a scathing attack over a fan edit of the Wicked poster, branding it the ‘most offensive thing’ she’s ever seen.
The official artwork for the musical adaptation was shared earlier this month, ahead of the film’s official release on November 22.
Fans were left unimpressed with the poster, which recreated the original 2003 print, showing Cynthia’s Elphaba with her black hat, and long dark hair swept over her shoulder, beside Ariana Grande as Glinda, whispering in her ear while donning a diamond-encrusted crown.
After a fan account shared an edited version on Instagram, changing the 37-year-old’s lips from green to red and moving her hat over her eyes – similar to the first picture – the actress was left raging.
Sharing the edit on her Instagram story, she fumed: ‘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.’
She concluded: ‘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.’
Sharing the official poster once again soon after, Cynthia added: ‘Let me put this right here, to remind you and cleanse your palette.’
The highly anticipated film is set to land in UK theatres on November 27 almost 10 years after the film adaption was first announced in 2016.
Cynthia took on the iconic role of Elphaba in the upcoming adaptation, beside Ariana, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, Jeff Goldblum and Jonathan Bailey.
Fans weren’t too pleased with the released print when it was initially unveiled this month, slating it as ‘awful’, and a ‘complete mockery’ of the original.
Wicked Part One is released in cinemas on November 22, almost a year before the second part will premiere.
The official synopsis reads: ‘Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart.
‘The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths.
‘Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future.
‘Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.’