Wicked star Cynthia Erivo addresses fan-made poster controversy: 'I probably should have called my friends'

Actress Cynthia Erivo has addressed the recent Wicked fan-made poster controversy.

Erivo stars as the Wicked Witch of the West – otherwise known as Elphaba – in the upcoming film adaptation of the musical Wicked.

Earlier this month, the star slammed a fan-edited version of the movie's poster on social media, which obscured her eyes to more closely resemble the original musical poster.

Watch the video above.

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After receiving a mixed response to her comments, the star has now shared why she chose to speak out.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the CFDA Fashion Awards red carpet, Erivo clarified her statement "wasn't necessarily a clap-back", as the interviewer put it.

The actress walked the red carpet wearing a hooded The Gap gown by Zac Posen.

Erivo explained her comments stemmed from being "really protective over the role".

"I'm passionate about it and I know the fans are passionate about it and I think for me it was just like a human moment of wanting to protect little Elphaba, and it was like a human moment," she added.

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"I probably should have called my friends, but it's fine."

Just a couple of weeks earlier, Erivo shared a photo of a fan-edited Wicked poster to her Instagram story, which she claimed was "deeply hurtful"

The fan-made poster, featuring Erivo and her co-star Ariana Grande, lowered the star's witch hat to cover her eyes and had her lips in a smirk with red lipstick on to resemble the original 2003 Broadway poster.

The actress said the fan edits were the "wildest, most offensive thing I have seen."

"None of this is funny. None of this is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us."

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Erivo explained, "to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me."

Her co-star Grande later weighed in on the controversy in an interview with Variety, telling the outlet she had "so much respect" for Erivo.

Grande explained it had been a "big adjustment period" with the movie.

Erivo and Grande are about to embark on their global tour for Wicked, making their first stop Down Under at Sydney's State Theatre on November 3.

Ahead of the film's release, 9Honey spoke to Academy Award-winning hair and makeup designer Frances Hannon, who revealed Erivo's green-skinned look was the most challenging part of the film to bring to life.

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