Hold on, why is no one talking about the Wicked whitewashing of Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero?

The book contains lots of details about his heritage

Jonathan Bailey’s depiction of Wicked’s Fiyero brought the beloved character to the masses, but unfortunately, his character should have looked much different according to the source material.

We’ve already established that Wicked’s lore is deep with its own language and not-so-gentle nods to the Wizard of Oz. Most of that comes from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of The West.

Over 20 years ago when the book was used to inspire the original Broadway musical, producers omitted much of the darker content they felt was too mature for a mainstream audience. Though this included removing details like Elphaba violently bashing in the skull of Madame Morrible, it seems they also completely whitewashed the character of Fiyero.

Fiyero is supposed to have an ochre skin tone

Fiyero’s race is never explicitly mentioned in Gregory Maguire’s original book, though countless details and motifs point to Fiyero being a person of colour such as his “ochre” skin tone. Fiyero also had painted blue diamond facial markings, something he was constantly ridiculed for. It’s a far cry from the Mr Popular we see in both the film and musical, and would have arguably created a deeper connection with Elphaba who had what Boq called “skin issues” of her own.

In the text itself, Boq introduces Fiyero as a “full blood” Winkie prince who might be shocked by what civilisation feels like. Elphaba responds that he must long for his own “barbaric kind.”

“A new student, oddly dressed in suede leggings and a white cotton shirt, with a pattern of blue diamonds tattooed on the dark skin of his face and hands,” the paragraph reads.

 

In another portion, a man by the name of Avaric questions: “What’s he wearing such silly paint for? He only draws attention to himself. And that skin. I wouldn’t want to have skin the colour of shit.”

When Wicked came to Broadway in 2003, with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth at the helm, they cast white actor Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero. That trend continued over the years, and though men of colour have played the character since, Wicked director Jon M. Chu maintained the original casting decision.

Almost a month after Wicked was released, both first-time viewers and musical lovers are discovering the concerning details for themselves. Many have since taken to Twitter and Reddit to share their thoughts.

One person argued: “The way casting a Black Fiyero would 1, be true to the source material and 2, add so much more depth to the character and his relationship with Elphaba.”

“He did a great job but I wish they stayed true to the book and made Fiyero a brown man. He is referred to as being DARK and ORCHRE colour. He should have been black, Middle Eastern, Romani or Indian. #WickedMovie,” another said.

Someone else wrote on Twitter: “My biggest shock and surprise when reading the book was that Fiyero is Black and it is referenced so many times. I have never once seen ANYONE speak about it when talking about the book.”