Cynthia Erivo has previously spoken about how the edited poster ‘degrades’ her
The original creator of the fan-made Wicked poster has now spoken out following star Cynthia Erivo’s comments.
Erivo stars as Elphaba, who later becomes the Wicked Witch of West, alongside Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda the Good Witch, in the movie adaptation of the highly successful Broadway musical of the same name.
Wicked will be released in two parts, with the first being released in cinemas across the US next month on November 22.
The show and the film both follow Elphaba, a misunderstood green-skinned witch, who forges an unlikely friendship with Glinda – a student who desires to be popular.
After they encounter the Wizard of Oz (played by Jeff Goldblum) and uncover secrets about him and the corruption in Oz, their relationship soon changes.
Just as the musical itself is well-loved, so is the iconic poster, which partially shows Elphaba’s face behind her hat as Glinda whispers into her ear.
And last week, Erivo, 37, slammed a fan edit of one of the film’s official posters as ‘deeply hurtful’ and ‘degrading’.
And now, the original creator has now explained the true meaning behind their work.
Taking to Twitter, they wrote: “Ok so I’ve decided to repost this – the last few days have been wild & have helped me realise that the initial reaction was largely overblown.
“This is, and always was, an innocent fan edit to pay homage to the original Broadway poster, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
“I’ve also seen some people take credit for this and don’t think that’s totally fair so I’m coming out of the woodworks lol.
“While I deleted initially as I felt it was the right thing to do, fan posters have been around for as long as movies have existed.
“I never meant to cause any harm and the poster is just a homage to the original broadway poster, just like the movie’s recreation is.”
They went on to explain how ‘no AI was used’ in the making of the poster – which the creator now wants to keep online.
They added: “Also, I will say that Cynthia is valid in having her feelings on the matter, and I’m also valid in wanting to keep my version of the poster up as I truly meant no harm with it and just made it as a way to show love for the original. Both can be true.”
Erivo wasn’t the only cast member to speak about the edit as Grande also spoke about the numerous edits, saying that she finds AI ‘so conflicting and troublesome sometimes’.
