Ariana Grande Responds to Cynthia Erivo's Comments on EditedWickedPoster: 'Something That Is So Much Bigger Than Us'

Mar. 15, 2025

From Left: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on July 26, 2024.Photo:JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty

Ariana Grandeis standing with herWickedcostar,Cynthia Erivo.While speaking toVarietyat theAcademy Museum Gala in Los Angeleson Saturday, Oct. 19, Grande weighed in on the AI-edited poster for the upcoming movie that was manipulated to cover her Erivo’s face.“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,” Grande, 31, said. “This is something that is so much bigger than us, and the fans are gonna have fun and make their edits.“From Left: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on Oct. 19, 2024.Emma McIntyre/GettyWhen asked if sometimes things can go “too far,” the"Thank U, Next"singer said, “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.“She added, “It’s so much stimulation about something that’s so much bigger than us.“On Wednesday, Oct. 16, theBad Times at the El Royaleactress, 37,slammed an AI-edited poster for theWickedmovie. The poster had been manipulated in an attempt to match theBroadwayshow’s original rendering, which hides the face of her character, Elphaba.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful AI of us fighting, equal to people posing the question ‘is your ***** green,’ " Erivo wrote on her Instagram Stories. “None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us.““The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION,” she continued. “I am a real life 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.“Cynthia Erivo’s Instagram Stories.cynthiaerivo/InstagramErivo also noted that the movie’s poster was meant to be an homage to the Broadway show’s iconic poster, not an exact copy. “To edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me,” she concluded. “And that is just deeply hurtful.“The Tony winner also shared the unaltered movie poster, which shows her looking straight into the camera, on her Instagram Stories. “Let me put this right here, to remind you and cleanse your palette,” she wrote.the ‘Wicked’ movie poster via Cynthia Erivo’s Instagram Stories.Universal StudiosWickedpremieres on Nov. 22, 2024;Wicked Part Twois slated for a Nov. 26, 2025 release.

Ariana Grandeis standing with herWickedcostar,Cynthia Erivo.

While speaking toVarietyat theAcademy Museum Gala in Los Angeleson Saturday, Oct. 19, Grande weighed in on the AI-edited poster for the upcoming movie that was manipulated to cover her Erivo’s face.

“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,” Grande, 31, said. “This is something that is so much bigger than us, and the fans are gonna have fun and make their edits.”

From Left: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on Oct. 19, 2024.Emma McIntyre/Getty

Emma McIntyre/Getty

When asked if sometimes things can go “too far,” the"Thank U, Next"singer said, “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.”

She added, “It’s so much stimulation about something that’s so much bigger than us.”

On Wednesday, Oct. 16, theBad Times at the El Royaleactress, 37,slammed an AI-edited poster for theWickedmovie. The poster had been manipulated in an attempt to match theBroadwayshow’s original rendering, which hides the face of her character, Elphaba.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful AI of us fighting, equal to people posing the question ‘is your ***** green,’ " Erivo wrote on her Instagram Stories. “None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us.”

“The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION,” she continued. “I am a real life 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.”

Cynthia Erivo’s Instagram Stories.cynthiaerivo/Instagram

cynthiaerivo/Instagram

Erivo also noted that the movie’s poster was meant to be an homage to the Broadway show’s iconic poster, not an exact copy. “To edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me,” she concluded. “And that is just deeply hurtful.”

The Tony winner also shared the unaltered movie poster, which shows her looking straight into the camera, on her Instagram Stories. “Let me put this right here, to remind you and cleanse your palette,” she wrote.

the ‘Wicked’ movie poster via Cynthia Erivo’s Instagram Stories.Universal Studios

Universal Studios

Wickedpremieres on Nov. 22, 2024;Wicked Part Twois slated for a Nov. 26, 2025 release.

source: people.com