Cynthia Erivo slams fan-edited ‘evil’ poster, says ‘it makes me fall’

October 17, 2024: Cynthia Erivo, to play Elphaba in the upcoming film evil film adaptation, expressing her frustration with the fan-made poster for the film, which covered most of her face, especially her eyes.

Erivo shared her frustration on Instagram, highlighting how an edited version of Universal Studios’ official poster mimicked the original Broadway musical poster, which featured an animated Elphaba.

Erivo noted in the post that unlike the illustrations in the musical, she is a “real-life person” and emphasized that she intentionally makes eye contact with the audience in the official poster, which is a powerful nonverbal form of communication. By hiding her face in an altered version, Erivo felt her existence and identity had been erased, which she described as “deeply hurtful.”

She also compared the experience to other offensive depictions of her character, including artificial intelligence-generated images and insensitive questions she received about her character. Erivo’s comments reveal how these changes can feel dehumanizing and degrading, especially given her role in such an iconic and beloved story.

evilDirected by Jon M. Chu, this is the highly anticipated adaptation of the 2003 Tony Award-winning musical. It explores the backstories of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch), and stars Ariana Grande alongside Erivo.