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International Business Times
International Business Times
Elizabeth Urban

Wicked's Green Skin Trigger Warning Mocked By Experts: 'The Authors Of This Silly Classification Are Living On Planet Bonkers'

Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, played by Cynthia Erivo is bullied for her green skin, which the BBFC’s website said could be “upsetting and poignant for some audiences.” (Credit: Latin Times)

At the long-anticipated film "Wicked" makes its debut in theaters, some experts are mocking the movie's green skin trigger warning.

The British Board of Film Classification decided "Wicked" needed a trigger warning for "discrimination" due to the anti-green skin sentiment many characters display in the film, as reported by the Daily Mail.

During the film, Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, played by Cynthia Erivo is bullied for her green skin, which the BBFC's website said could be "upsetting and poignant for some audiences."

"A green-skinned woman is mocked, bullied and humiliated because of her skin colour," the BBFC's warning to viewers stated.

The BBFC also noted that the characters' treatment of Nessarose, a character in the film in a wheelchair, played by Marissa Bode appeared to do so in a "condescending manner," as reported by the The Times.

Following the announcement of the "discrimination" trigger warning, various experts mocked the board's decision.

"Green skinned people under attack? You cannot make it up. It is evident that the author of this silly classification are living on planet Bonkers," Frank Furedi, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent told the Mail.

Writer Simon Evans also made fun of the classification, telling the Mail that trigger warnings are only good for "dampening excitement" and "destroying creative, dramatic tension."

However, research done by the BBFC in 2021 found that parents valued content warnings regarding racism and discrimination, as reported by The Times.

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