A “mesmerizing” clip of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande has left their fans—and much of the internet—quite baffled.
After much anticipation, Wicked finally hit theaters on November 22. The film adaptation of the Broadway musical has sparked plenty of conversation and controversy, starting when Cynthia publicly criticized a fan-made poster of the film. But that was far from the end.
Highlights
- A clip of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande's emotional interview went viral, leaving fans baffled.
- Cynthia expressed shock upon learning about the profound impact Wicked's song Defying Gravity has had on queer audiences.
- Ariana Grande gently held her co-star's finger as Cynthia became visibly moved by the revelation.
In a recent interview, EqualPride journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist tells the actresses, “I’ve seen this week, people are taking the lyrics of Defying Gravity and really holding space with that and feeling power in that.”
Image credits: Robin Pope / Vidas Press
The Tony winner puts her hand to her chest and says, visibly overcome with emotion, “Uh, I didn’t know that that was happening.”
“I’ve seen it, yeah,” the interviewer replies. Cynthia seems shocked as she exclaims, “That’s really powerful. That’s what I wanted.”
The 37-year-old British actress then turns to her co-star, who, looking equally solemn, holds onto Cynthia’s finger.
Image credits: arianagrande
“I didn’t know that was happening,” Cynthia repeats, after which the reporter explains, “I’ve seen it on a couple of posts, I don’t know how widespread [it is], but I’m in queer media.”
“That’s really cool,” Cynthia concludes.
The exchange went viral after it was shared by user Daniel Lu, who wrote, “I’m completely mesmerized by this clip .. it’s almost like they are speaking a language I don’t understand.
“I can’t catch the sense of it for a single moment. I’m not understanding the words or the feelings or the energy at all. It’s amazing,” Daniel added.
The star was touched when a reporter told her the film’s song Defying Gravity resonated with queer audiences
Image credits: outmagazine / tracyegilchrist
“I've watched this like 30 times, and i still can't parse a single thing going on here,” another user admitted.
“This seems like an SNL sketch if SNL were aware,” somebody else quipped.
“It’s her reaction as though it’s her own personal song, for me,” a separate user wrote.
“What does ‘holding space to a lyric’ even mean?” another person asked, while somebody else said, “I’m so glad we are holding space for this clip.”
The song is about Cynthia’s character, Elphaba, embracing her individuality after being exiled from the Land of Oz
Image credits: outmagazine / tracyegilchrist
Defying Gravity is one of the most iconic songs from the Wicked Broadway production. The song is about Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West), played by Cynthia, embracing her individuality as she’s exiled for exposing the dark truths about the Wizard of Oz.
Composed by Stephen Schwartz, it features lyrics like “Something has changed within me/ Something is not the same/I'm through with playing by the rules/Of someone else's game” and “Too late for second-guessing / Too late to go back to sleep / It’s time to trust my instincts / Close my eyes and leap.”
In her interview with Out.com, Cynthia opened up about how the character of Elphaba mirrors her personal history.
“It's hard to talk about Elphaba as an other without having it intrinsically linked to being a woman who walks through the world as a queer Black woman,” she said.
“Immediately I understood what it meant for people to look at you and see you as not beautiful, not acceptable, not any of those things, because I walked through the world like this.
“And having to find a way to not necessarily be OK with it but be OK with yourself enough so that when other people put that on you, you can still move through it.”
Co-star Ariana Grande held onto Cynthia’s finger to offer her some consolation
The press tour for the film saw Cynthia and Ariana shedding tears on several occasions. The stars even had to explain why they repeatedly became emotional when discussing different aspects of the film.
“I think it’s because people have come in with such energy and their emotional responses come into the room with us,” Cynthia told Amanda Holden during an interview on Heart Breakfast.
“It’s the first time we’ve been able to talk about [the film], so we’re both reliving and rehashing all the things we’ve been through and the journey we’ve been on. We can’t help it! We get very emotional about it.”
Image credits: imageBROKER / Vidas Press
Cynthia has been involved in a number of controversies lately. Earlier this month, she faced backlash for giving a “rude” response to a fashion reporter who asked her to reveal a common misconception people had about her.
“I don’t know what the common misconception is at all. That’s not a fashion question,” the Grammy winner responded.
In October, the star was criticized after describing a fan-made movie poster of Wicked as “degrading.” The edited image replicated the classic poster from the Broadway production, which depicts Glinda whispering something into Elphaba’s ear.
“Our poster is an homage, not an imitation. To edit my face is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful,” she wrote on Instagram.
Wicked, an adaptation of the famous Broadway musical, hit theaters on Friday (November 22)
Image credits: Lounis Tiar / Avalon / Vidas Press
Cynthia has since apologized for criticizing the fan’s poster on social media, admitting she should’ve “called her friends instead,“ and that she just wanted “to defend the character.”
She faced further criticism after speaking negatively about the other actresses who had auditioned for the role of Glinda. When asked about her reaction to Ariana Grande being cast as the Good Witch of the North, Cynthia replied, “Thank goodness, because it was not the two ladies that I was auditioning with.”
"This is insane levels of awkward," an X user said about the interview
Image credits: AjaTheEmpress
Image credits: pinchecabezota
Image credits: _greg93
Image credits: aviantculprit
Image credits: StephenLindsey
Image credits: Faith_Fairing
Image credits: JakeGunth
Image credits: realNegentropy
Image credits: nosilverv
Image credits: unammused_mango
Image credits: dcmickc
Image credits: khushi7288
Image credits: iamnaaomixx
Image credits: itsbritneyloh
Image credits: grunbish