Cynthia Erivo Faces Wicked Attribution Issue

Last month, Wicked: For Good debuted at number one at the box office. The second half of a two-part film adaptation of the book and Broadway musical, the film has been a smashing success for everyone involved, including its stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

Timed to release with the movie, Erivo also debuted her autobiography Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much. The book has been well-received, currently with 4.7 stars on Amazon.

However, the book has not been free from controversy. Late last week, readers discovered that a passage from the book, in which Erivo compares herself to a Petri dish, was taken from her co-star without attribution.

According to the Washington Post, the original quote from Grande reads, “I’ve been a specimen in a petri dish, really, since I was 16 or 17, so I have heard it all. I’ve heard every version of it, of what’s wrong with me, and then you fix it, and then it’s wrong for different reasons.”

Erivo’s version of the quote reads, “I’ve been a specimen in a petri dish since I was a teenager. I’ve heard it all, every version of what’s wrong with me. And when I fix it, then it’s wrong for different reasons. Maybe you’ve felt the same?”

Erivo’s publisher, Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan, took responsibility for the mistake. It said that a chapter introduction was omitted from the book and that they have updated all files to include the introduction. Digital versions and future prints of the book should include the passage.

Nonetheless, the story has gone viral both in the news and on social media. But there’s one major problem: there isn’t much of a story at all.

A Tale of Nothing

To be 100% clear, barring any other revelations about this book, I’m inclined to believe the publisher that this is an error. Who made the error is largely irrelevant. This doesn’t match the pattern of someone trying to take credit for the work and words of others.

First off, Grande and Erivo are well-documented friends and have been close for years. They are co-stars, and both are major celebrities. It’s honestly surprising that it took nearly a month for this issue to be noticed, given those variables. Especially since Grande first said the words during the press tour for the first film.

Second, it is just one passage, and it is widely known to be from Grande. If this were a sneaky attempt to take a shortcut, it would be perhaps the worst choice ever. 

Finally, even if the plagiarism was deliberate, Erivo likely didn’t write the book. It is common for celebrity autobiographies to use ghostwriters, and it is an accepted practice by publishers and audiences alike.

Yes, Erivo should have checked for plagiarism. Her name appears on the book’s cover, and she is ultimately responsible for its contents. But one omitted attribution in over 200 pages does not make a compelling argument for plagiarism.

Still, we have no information about how involved Erivo was in the book. Between ghostwriters, packagers, editors and her publisher, her participation might have been limited to just a series of interviews.

While that doesn’t mean she can duck responsibility, there’s just not much here to take responsibility for.

A Tempest in a Teapot

When dealing with a plagiarism story like this one, I ask myself a simple question: How would this story be handled in a different, but comparable work?

In any other work of similar length, including dissertations, non-fiction and fictional books, it would only warrant a correction. Though I encourage the publisher to conduct a thorough check for other issues, if this is the only problem, a correction would more than address it.

And since that correction has been pushed out, there’s not much more to say or do.

Usually, this wouldn’t even be an issue to discuss here. However, the story has been covered by dozens of news sites and has gone viral on social media, particularly TikTok.

The reason is obvious. Erivo and Grande are two of the biggest celebrities in the world right now. Anything involving one of them, let alone both, is going to grab attention. 

But if this were any other book with any other author, an update would be quietly pushed out, and any announcement about it, if one is even made, would go largely unnoticed. You certainly wouldn’t have the Washington Post, People, Cosmopolitan and many more write about it.

This is the curse of celebrity. Erivo and Grande are both under an unfair level of scrutiny and are held to a higher standard than even doctoral candidates publishing their dissertations.

That, in turn, really plays to what the quote itself is about. They both are right that they live in a petri dish. They are scrutinized more severely than almost anyone else and, because of that, even minor errors, like this one, become major news stories.

Bottom Line

To be clear, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this. Meghan Markle, for example, has repeatedly faced allegations of plagiarism that were blown out of proportion. We also see this in film, music and television, though those cases often center around legal disputes.

My advice to celebrities is to be aware of this double standard. If you’re famous enough that where you eat breakfast can make headlines, any issues with citation or attribution, no matter how minor, can become “major” plagiarism scandals.

This isn’t fair, but it is reality. I would encourage celebrities, their agents, publishers and others working with them to be aware of this as well and act accordingly.

To repeat, I believe that this was a mistake. Whether it was a printing error, as the publisher claims, or a mistake by the ghostwriter or editor, I have no way of knowing. Still, all signs point to this being a mistake at this point.

All in all, this story is more about celebrity than it is plagiarism. However, that’s fitting given the quote in question, and it shows why this expression resonates with both Erivo and Grande so strongly.