Cynthia Erivo Reflects on Her Reaction to the ‘Wicked’ Poster Backlash: ‘I Fell Out on the Internet’

When starring in a massive blockbuster like “Wicked,” talent often don’t often get a say in how the project is marketed, nor how people react to that marketing. Cynthia Erivo, however, couldn’t help but respond when a poster for the “Wicked” film adaptation made in homage to a famous ad for the original Broadway musical received backlash online in the form of cruel comments and obscene memes. Erivo eventually backtracked her statement after it seemed to only embolden internet trolls to push further and in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, related it to her character Elphaba’s own unwillingness to stay silent.

“Having that passion for what this piece is and loving it so much and knowing how much I want to communicate through Elphaba, that’s probably where that came from,” Erivo said of firing back. “And so in my little human moment I had … I fell out on the internet, when really I should have just picked up my phone and called a friend. We have these human moments. And me being human and sensitive, I shared something that I think is part of the little girl in me. I realize that there are so many people who love this just as much as I do.”

While the original Broadway poster features Glinda whispering into Elphaba’s ear with Elphaba’s eyes obscured by her witch’s hat, the film version featuring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Erivo as Elphaba chose to show Elphaba’s eyes. Some ridiculed this decision to deviate from the original pose and even used AI to alter it, which Erivo didn’t respond well to.

“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,” Erivo wrote on her Instagram Stories. “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.”

In further relating herself to Elphaba, Erivo said to the LA Times, “We both lack patience, me more than her. I think we both have daddy issues. And we don’t mince our words, that’s for sure.”

“Wicked” from Universal Pictures is now currently playing in theaters.