Cynthia Erivo Calls Fan-Made ‘Wicked’ Poster ‘Degrading and Hurtful’

Introduction

Now, those productions which cause a lot of hue and cry in the cinema and theatre world are relatively scarce, and the movie version of Wicked, much as it is in demand would certainly be one. Since the news was announced, the movie Wicked has been providing plenty of news media surrounding it which is still true to the iconic Broadway musical of the same name.

Excited fans want to listen to every single detail about the movie cast, development, and even release. Unfortunately, there was an unexpected twist: the talented actress and singer Cynthia Erivo, who would play Elphaba-the Wicked Witch of the West-in the new film, was thrown into bitter controversy over a fan-made movie poster she branded “deeply hurtful” and “degrading”. It was designed by a fan.

Published on social media and thus harnessed by the fans, the poster created heated debates regarding fan art, the representation of the Black artist in it, and the kind of dynamics that exist between spheres of online activity.

love and criticism were met with Cynthia Erivo’s response to the poster, but it finally shines light on how essential it is to respect artists and the boundaries they create in a progressively digital world.

This essay will delve into the background of Cynthia Erivo’s response to the fan-authored poster for Wicked, why she may have felt it absolutely vicious, some of the larger implications of fan art in the age of the internet, and what this scandal says about race, representation, and the entertainment world.

The Controversy: Fan-Made ‘Wicked’ Poster Sparks Outrage

It was in the early days of the firestorm that a circulating fan-made poster of Wicked by Warner Brothers for its movie version had plastered Cynthia Erivo, who plays the role of Elphaba, on its boards. At different points of the play, her facial features were greatly distorted and emphasized.

The image was dressed in a way that highlights the physical attributes of Erivo, stereotypically portraying that negativity in a style that would offend many. Because it’s posted on a few social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit within several hours, the attention of Wicked fans and individuals in the entertainment industry shifted to the image.

Initially, Cynthia Erivo was hit by the masses after which she met mixed reactions from people regarding that poster. Some fans consider it an abomination while others saw creativity behind that artwork. It is during the popularity of the poster that Cynthia Erivo finally saw it.

That happened when the poster became a hit. Although she has appeared in dozens of feature films, touted as more dramatic and already recognized as an open-hearted social justice advocate, the actress did not remain silent about how she felt about this piece of art work.

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Cynthia Erivo’s Reaction: ‘It Degrades Me’

Cynthia Erivo turned to her several social media venues to denounce the poster designed by fans. Writing in a pathetically impassioned essay against the image, she referred to it as “deeply hurtful” and “degrading.”

The ad aided in the perpetuation of injurious preconceptions about Black women, particularly in the entertainment field, and did so in a manner conducive to the preservation of that prejudice by delineating of Erivo in a fashion that tended to further that prejudice.

It’s a fan-made poster. Perhaps it came from the right place, but what is it that degrades me and lookalikes?. “It is not a matter of whether or not my intentions were malicious.” My facial characteristics have been exaggerated in a manner that is reminiscent of caricatures, which have been around for centuries and have been used to dehumanise and degrade individuals of African descent. In addition to being hurtful, this is not flattering.

It was highly welcomed by the acting fraternity and the fans and campaigners as an outpouring of support for the reaction from Erivo after she voiced out her situation on the fan art. Her reaction, where she spoke against the fan art and took the whole situation to turn it into an opportunity to bring out the importance of having accurate depictions.

It was many others, however, who thought it to be just an artistic expression and that Erivo was wrong to have shown all those emotions. The great chasm in public opinion revealed the complexity of fan art, in addition to the breadth at which creativity is constrained when relating it to matters of race and representation.

Fan Art and Celebrity Culture: Where Do We Draw the Line?

The controversy surrounding the Wicked poster by fans raised very serious issues on fan art and what role it plays in celebrity society. Fan art is the way through which people have been able to reach out to their favorite celebrities, films, and television shows for so many years. So, there is an after-effect of such rapid growth with sites like DeviantArt, Instagram, and Tumblr giving birth to so many excellent artists.

The works are very diverse in the artistic fields, from digital painting to the making of some posters of movies. Such masterpieces make a huge contribution to the cultural debate surrounding popular media, often for their praise of the actors and characters in peculiar ways.

However, as this controversy demonstrates, there are moments when fan art can go beyond acceptable boundaries. When artistic expression misrepresents, objectifies, or dehumanises a subject, especially someone who belongs to a marginalised group, it has the potential to cause significant harm with its actions.

Cynthia Erivo’s situation has shocked us back into the reality that fan art, though creative and often possessing the best of intentions, must be attuned to the power that it wields over the lives of those it represents.

Although Erivo enjoys the love and affection that she gets from her fans in reaction to the poster, she noted lines that should never be crossed. The above was said by her, “I am all for creativity and artistic expression; however when that expression comes at the expense of somebody’s dignity, it is not art; it is damaging.”

Race and Representation in Hollywood: The Bigger Picture

The outrage of the poster for Wicked is merely a small expression of the larger and more comprehensive context of how blacks, but importantly black women are portrayed and represented in the culture and by the mainstream media. Hollywood’s past shows blacks within caricature and stereotypes. Blacks rarely receive more than one-dimensional roles, which characteristically overemphasize physical features, negative attributes or submissive responsibilities.

Although the entertainment industry has evolved toward greater and more inclusive range of representation for audiences, such images remain. In the entertainment industry, black actors, such as Cynthia Erivo, frequently find themselves negotiating a terrain that simultaneously praises and dehumanises them. Erivo’s response to the Wicked poster is illustrative of the irritation that many Black actors experience when their appearance or talent is eclipsed by stereotypes that are out of date and insulting.

Erivo has been very vocal about being a Black woman in Hollywood, and the role she took in Wicked-Elphaba is quite remarkable. On Broadway, Elphaba is a multilateral character facing discrimination, rejection, and the desire for acceptance. Traditionally, the role of Elphaba was played by white women. Casting ERIVO as Elphaba in the movie adaptation of Wicked is a step towards the kind of filmmaking that’s more inclusively storied, and excitement for her take on the iconic legendary character has hit an all-time high.

On the other hand, controversy surrounding the poster produced by fans exhibits the fact that even at a time of development, there is so much still to be done to ensure respect and dignity for black actors in the eyes of the public.

The Importance of Listening to Artists’ Boundaries

How Cynthia Erivo responds to the fan-made poster unmasks an important component of celebrity culture: the lines that artists draw. That is the world we live in-as much as a role social media plays-celebrities can hear from their fans in ways that were a lot simpler than ever before.

With the social media like Twitter and Instagram, now fans can directly connect with their favorite celebrities-thus, usually, this develops a sense of belonging between them. But this higher access comes at its cost because sometimes, in their excitement and fervor, fans forget that the actors and celebrities whom they admire are human beings and therefore face real emotions.

Of course, performers can set limits on how they are represented and talked about, Erivo said-too in the case of fan art-debased-and she let it be known last week that the fan art degrading of her was an assault on her dignity and self-respect. Fans must realize the power that is inherent in their artistic work to choose whom they should love and also stick to hear from whom. This is what Cynthia is trying to argue.

What This Means for the Wicked Movie and Cynthia Erivo’s Role

Yet still, much excitement is seen concerning the Wicked movie despite the controversy that surrounds the poster of the movie designed by fans. Probably one of the most anxiously awaited performances in the next film is Cynthia Erivo’s bringing of her powerful voice and emotional depth to the part of Elphaba. Fans are anxious to see her execute the role.

The biggest news: Ariana Grande signed on to play Glinda, the Good Witch, in the Wicked movie directed by Jon M. Chu. But the movie brings on the big screen beloved Broadway musicals and tells a tale nobody ever told before about the witches of Oz, bringing to screen topics of friendship, bigotry, and personal transformation none brought forth to the audience.

As she is likely to face a crisis while incorporating Elphaba into her life, the argument that has cropped up over the fan-made poster stands as a formidable barrier. She is not only an amazing singer and actress but also the voice for herself and everyone who might happen to go through dehumanising situations in future.

Her reaction to this incident surely goes ahead to prove that she is not just an excellent singer and actress. The closer this movie gets to its release dates, the sooner it is dawning on everyone that Erivo’s take on Elphaba will be a game-changer; even more so, her desire for dignity makes her strength as a performer even more robust.

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Conclusion

As we live in a social media-dominated world, the controversy that came up for Cynthia Erivo and the fan-made poster for Wicked puts one in mind of the messy complexity surrounding fan art. However true fandom and creativity go great together, it is important that the subjects of the fan art be real, flesh-and-blood people with actual feelings. As Erivo correctly noted, it’s a wrong way in which one’s artistic expression cannot run at the cost of dignity or humanity of any other person.

She is smart to draw attention to herself and set limits and call out the humiliation of some fan art when they speak out, as in speaking out by Erivo against the humiliating fan art that humiliated her. While representation matters more than ever, Black actors, particularly Black women, deserve respect and consideration.

We have great hopes for Wicked and look forward to seeing whether debate sparked by this controversy will blossom into a much more aware, even less personally roughshod, relationship between fan bases and the superstars they adore. Although Cynthia Erivo had just started running a starting lap across the stages as Elphaba, she was prepared enough to produce a performance that would be remembered for years from everything bad she had had to face on her way.

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