With the release date of Nov. 22 approaching fast, it’s no wonder that Wicked (2024), the film remake of the award-winning Broadway musical Wicked starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Jonathan Bailey, has been stirring up attention.
Musical theater and Ariana Grande fans alike have been eagerly anticipating the film’s release. But along with all the excitement and positive attention surrounding its promotion, there’s been a swirl of controversies and petty drama between the production and the fans that’s keeping everyone talking.
The Poster Controversy
The biggest controversy surrounding the film is the fan-edited promotional poster that sparked an outraged response from Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch of the West).
The original, iconic poster from the Broadway musical has an illustration of Glinda (the “good” witch) whispering into Elphaba’s ear with her hand completely covering her nose and mouth. At the same time, Elphaba smirks forward, wearing red lipstick and a black hat covering her eyes.
Fans of the original musical found the new version less striking, leading one fan to edit the poster to more closely resemble the original. More specifically, the fan moved Grande’s hand to cover more of her face, covered Erivo’s eyes with the hat, and photoshopped Erivo’s mouth to form a smirk with red lipstick instead of green.
Erivo responded to this fan-edit saying, “This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful AI of us fighting… None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us.”
She also added, “Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.”
After these comments, many fans of the musical believed that Erivo overreacted and that her response went too far, while others made light of the situation with plenty of jokes and memes.
The Kardashian Watch party
Any fan of Wicked would have loved the private watch party that Kim Kardashian threw for her family. The party had a giant arch of pink florals and balloons by the front door, green and pink drinks, green and pink SKIMS pajamas, a green carpet, cakes featuring Glinda and Elphaba, and a multitude of Wicked (2024)-themed toys. Of course, the perfect watch party wouldn’t have been complete without Grande and Erivo themselves joining the Kardashians for this special screening.
The family seemed to have a blast—as any fan would—but many fans were inevitably displeased with this PR stunt, calling out the Kardashians’ privilege and the special treatment they received.
Some fans complained that the Kardashians should have been invited to an influencer screening instead as they have no connection to the theater industry. Others argued that there were others more deserving of the special watch party, like theater kids or children from low-income neighborhoods.
Despite these PR controversies, the excitement surrounding the new Wicked (2024) movie—both positive and critical—is undeniably only further promoting the film.
I’m just as excited as everyone else for its Nov. 22 release!
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