October 20th 2024.
Ariana Grande, one of the stars of the upcoming film adaptation of Wicked, has finally addressed the recent backlash surrounding the film's poster. The poster, featuring Grande and her co-star Cynthia Erivo, sparked a heated debate among fans when it was released earlier this month. Some fans loved the modern twist on the iconic Broadway play, while others felt it deviated too much from the original poster.
Erivo, who plays Elphaba in the film, spoke out against the poster edits that fans had been making, calling them degrading and explaining that they took away from the original intention of the poster. Grande, on the other hand, had not publicly shared her thoughts on the matter. But at the Academy Museum Gala, she finally opened up about the controversy, admitting that it is a complicated issue, especially when it comes to Artificial Intelligence.
"I find AI so conflicting and troublesome sometimes," Grande told Variety. "But I think it's just kind of such a massive adjustment period. This is something that is so much bigger than us, and the fans are gonna have fun and make their edits."
When asked if she thought fans could go too far with their edits, Grande replied, "I think so. And I have so much respect for my sister, Cynthia, and I love her so much. It's just a big adjustment period. It's so much stimulation about something that's so much bigger than us."
The original Broadway show poster featured an illustration of Elphaba and Glinda, while the film poster shows Erivo and Grande in a more modern, real-life photo. Some fans felt that the new poster was a downgrade from the original, with one fan on Reddit calling it "awful" and "like a complete mockery."
The backlash didn't sit well with Erivo, who took to Instagram to express her frustration. "This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen," she wrote. "None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us."
Despite the controversy, Erivo and Grande have become close friends during filming, and they are both excited for the release of Wicked on November 22. The highly anticipated film will finally hit UK theatres, almost 10 years after it was first announced in 2016. Grande will play Glinda the Good, while Erivo, who is just an Oscar away from becoming an EGOT winner, takes on the role of Elphaba.
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