“Watch Cynthia Erivo’s Controversial Interview Moment That Left Fans Outraged!”
“The original poster is an illustration. I am a real human being, who chose to look right down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer…because without words we communicate with our eyes.”
She concluded: “Our poster is an homage, not an imitation. To edit my face is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.”
Cynthia’s concerns came after many fans made AI-generated photos of her and Ariana, manipulating their likeness without their consent.
Responding to this phenomenon, Ariana said, “I think it’s very complicated because I find AI so conflicting and troublesome sometimes, 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.”
“I don’t know what the common misconception is at all. That’s not a fashion question,” Cynthia responded
Image credits: James Devaney / Getty
After Cynthia slammed their work, the fan who allegedly made the poster defended themselves writing, “This is, and always was, an innocent fan edit to pay homage to the original Broadway poster, and there’s nothing wrong with that!”
The actress later expressed regret over her decision to blast the fan’s creation on social media.
“I’m very protective of Elphaba. The fans are passionate, and so am I. It was a very human moment for me, wanting to defend the character,” she explained on October 28 during an interview on the red carpet at the 2024 CFDA Fashion Awards.
Still, Cynthia added that in hindsight, she should’ve “called her friends instead“ of posting her critique of the fan poster on Instagram.
