Ariana Grande knows something has changed within the creative world.
The Wicked star recently weighed in on the way artificial intelligence has expanded the scope of fan-created art—which was recently demonstrated in an edited movie poster Ariana’s costar Cynthia Erivo slammed for mimicking the original musical poster in which Elphaba’s face is hidden in shadow.
The perceived slight was also accompanied by another creation of an AI-generated movie poster that depicted Ariana and Cynthia fighting. Now, the “7 Rings” singer reflected on the entry of AI into the fan art space.
“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,” she told Variety at the Academy Museum Gala Oct. 19. “This is something that is so much bigger than us, and the fans are gonna have fun and make their edits.”
But on the notion some art can go too far, Ariana added, “I think so. I have so much respect for my sister, Cynthia, and I love her so much. It’s just a big adjustment period.”
As she put it, “It’s so much stimulation about something that’s so much bigger than us.”
And indeed, the movie musical has created a frenzy among fans, as Wicked lovers eagerly await the release of part one of the star-studded film—which stars, in addition to Ariana and Cynthia, Jonathan Bailey, Bowen Yang, Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh.
But when that excitement led to a fan account altering the film’s poster to mimic the musical’s original iconography, Cynthia took to social media to slam the move that covered the top half of her face.
“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen,” the Tony Award winner wrote on her Oct. 16 Instagram Story, comparing the doctored poster to inappropriate questions from fans regarding her green skin in the film. “None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us.”
She continued, “The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION. 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.”
Because, as she noted, the upcoming movie nor its poster is meant to be a copy of the original.
“Our poster is an homage not an imitation,” she explained. “To edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.”