‘Wicked’ Star Blasts Racist Trolls After Movie Poster Goes Viral
Wicked, based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, debuted on Broadway in 2003 and quickly became a cultural phenomenon. It reimagines the narrative of The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, exploring themes of friendship, betrayal, and the gray areas of morality. The musical, featuring memorable songs and a compelling story, received critical acclaim and secured its place as one of Broadway’s longest-running shows.
After years of speculation and anticipation, Universal Pictures announced a film adaptation of Wicked, with a two-part release scheduled for late 2024 and 2025. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were cast as Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, generating significant excitement and a conversation about representation in the arts.
Related: ‘Wicked’ly Exciting New Experience Coming to Universal Studios!
Recently, a new poster for the Wicked movie was released, showcasing Grande and Erivo. It honors the original Broadway poster, with Glinda whispering into Elphaba’s ear.
Subsequently, some fans began altering the poster, removing Erivo’s face and editing it to resemble the original Broadway artwork. Erivo responded strongly to these edits, highlighting the offensiveness of attempting to erase her image from the promotional material.
Erivo took to her Instagram Story to criticize the edits, calling them “the wildest, most offensive thing” she had encountered. She expressed that such alterations degrade her identity and dismiss her humanity.
This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful AI of us fighting, equal to people posing the qyestion “is your ***** green”
None of this is funny
None of this is cute
It degreades me
it degrades us
The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION. I am a real life human being, who chose to 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.
The response from fans on social media was largely supportive of Erivo. Many condemned the racist edits and memes, rallying behind the actress as she called out the injustices she faced. This backlash highlights a growing awareness within the entertainment community regarding the importance of representation and respect.
Wicked is set to hit theaters nationwide on November 22, 2024, with the second part coming out on November 21, 2025. The film is being directed by Jon M. Chu and also stars Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, and Marissa Bode as Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose.
How excited are you for Wicked to hit theaters NEXT MONTH? Who is your favorite character? Let us know in the comments!
