Actress Cynthia Erivo has been at the center of controversy after she voiced her outrage over a viral, fan-made edit of her and co-star Ariana Grande replicating a classic Broadway play poster of WICKED.

The 37-year-old, who portrays the witch Elphaba in the upcoming movie version of the story, which will be released on November 22, labeled the tribute as “degrading” in a post earlier today (October 16).

“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that AI of [me and Ariana] fighting, equal to people posing the question ‘is your ***** skin green,'” Erivo wrote.

Far from being sympathetic, netizens labeled her as a “snowflake,” accusing the actress of overreacting to what they interpreted as simple, harmless fan tributes done out of love for the WICKED franchise.

Actress Cynthia Erivo slams fan-edited version of a WICKED poster as “degrading,” netizens however believe her to be exaggerating

Image credits: Mike Coppola / Getty

The actress took particular offense at the fan poster taking an image of her facing towards the camera and covering her eyes below her witch hat, which was done in order to make her better resemble the iconic WICKED Broadway play poster.

“The original poster is an illustration, but I’m a real human being. I chose to look down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer,” she said. “Our poster is an homage, not an imitation. To edit my face is to erase me.”

Image credits: cynthiaerivo

While some fans defended her and supported her right to be upset, most were confused by her reaction. The actress has previously made fun of herself on her social media, going as far as using images of her face for comedic purposes.

“If this is the most offensive thing you’ve ever seen, the internet might be too much for you,” wrote a reader.

Erivo’s concerns come after an increase in the prevalence of AI edits using celebrity likenesses in recent years, most of which are unauthorized

Image credits: cynthiaerivo

Erivo’s unease about fans manipulating her likeness is shared by a growing number of celebrities who have found themselves at the mercy of AI-generated content created without their consent.

In particular, deep fakes, videos in which the face of a real person is replaced by the likeness of a celebrity extracted from hundreds of thousands of photos, have been the most troublesome.

Image credits: Universal Pictures / Alternative_Quote684

AI stats website ContentDetector.AI states that, as of 2023, over 500,000 videos of unauthorized video and voice deepfakes have been circulating on various social media platforms.

Even more worrying is the fact that a staggering 98% of all videos created using this technology are pornographic and that a surprising 71% of people worldwide are still unaware of what a deepfake is, leading to misinformation.

Image credits: Universal Pictures

“People need to remember that these edits can be harmful and disrespectful!” wrote one of Erivo’s fans in support.

“Cynthia Erivo’s reaction is spot on! It’s amazing how some edits can go too far,” another stated.

“It’s not that serious!” wrote one viewer, as others joined in to express their disagreement with the actress’ remarks

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