Ariana Grande responds to 'evil' fan poster controversy

Ariana Grande has “complicated” feelings about a fan-modified version of the Evil poster that her co-star in the film, Cynthia Erivo, called “the wildest and most offensive thing” this week.

Was asked to comment on the controversy diversity On Saturday at the Academy Museum Gala, Grande shared her mixed feelings about content generated by artificial intelligence.

“I think it's very complicated because I find AI so contradictory and problematic at times, but I think it's just a pretty big adjustment period,” she said. “This is something much bigger than us and the fans are going to have fun and make their changes.”

The controversy began on Wednesday when Erivo posted on Instagram the fan's poster, which had been photoshopped to look more like the Broadway musical poster.

“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I've ever seen, equivalent to this horrible AI of ours that we're fighting, equivalent to people asking the question, 'Is your ass green?'” Erivo wrote, referencing a meme used by fans of the musical. “None of this is funny. None of it is sweet. It humiliates me. It demeans us.”

The film poster released by Universal a week earlier shows Erivo as her character Elphaba looking into the camera while Grande as Glinda whispers in her ear. Although it is an homage to the original Broadway poster, there are key differences – for example, Erivo's eyes are visible or her lips are green rather than red like in the original version.

“The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION,” Erivo explained in her post. “I am a real human being who has chosen to look directly through the camera at you, the viewer… because without words, we communicate with our eyes.

“Our poster is a homage, not an imitation. To edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me,” she continued. “And that’s just deeply hurtful.”

Erivo then shared the Universal movie poster “to remind you and cleanse your palate.”

Grande said Saturday that she has “so much respect for my sister Cynthia and I love her so much” and reiterated that they are still in “an adjustment period.”

She added: “It's so much inspiration for something that's so much bigger than us.”

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