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Cynthia Erivo Criticizes Edited 'Wicked' Movie Poster: 'The Most Offensive Thing I've Ever Seen'

Cynthia Erivo Criticizes Edited 'Wicked' Movie Poster: 'The Most Offensive Thing I've Ever Seen'

Cynthia Erivo responds to an edited version of the 'Wicked' movie poster, which she calls the “wildest, most offensive thing I've ever seen.”

The Tony Award-winning actress shared the edited version of the poster on her Instagram Story on Wednesday, a version of the poster for the upcoming film that is more similar to the iconic poster for the Broadway show.

Notably, the Broadway show's poster hides the face of Elphaba, the green-skinned character played by Erivo in the film adaptation. In the official poster for the upcoming film directed by Jon M. Chu, Erivo looks directly into the camera, his face uncovered.

The original movie poster for the film “Wicked” appears on the left and an Instagram story shared by Cynthia Erivo featuring an edited “Wicked” poster appears on the right.

Universal Pictures/@cynthiaerivo/Instagram

“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have ever seen. It's akin to the horrible Ai of us arguing, akin to people asking the question 'Is your damn green,'” Erivo, 37, wrote alongside the edited image. “None of this is funny. None of it is sweet. It humiliates me. It demeans us.”

“The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION,” Erivo explained, referring to the Broadway show’s poster. “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.”

In this June 10, 2017 file photo, a billboard for the Broadway play “Wicked” is seen in Times Square in New York.

George Rose/Getty Images, FILE

Erivo ended her post by defending the official film poster: “Our poster is a homage, not an imitation. To edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that’s just deeply hurtful.”

The Grammy-winning singer shared the film's official poster in another Instagram Story post and wrote, “Let me put this here to remind you and cleanse your taste buds 💚💚.”

In an apparent act of solidarity, Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda alongside Erivo in the film, also shared the film's official poster on her Instagram Story after Erivo's posts went live. Chu also posted the film's official poster, which Erivo shared on his Instagram story, calling the actress “my superhero.”

“Wicked” hits theaters on November 22nd.

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