Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, the actresses of Wicked put a lot of heart into promoting the musical. Their emotion and tears in interviews are widely relayed on social networks.
Torrents of tears, hugs, emotion… Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo give everything to promote the musical Wickedin theaters on December 4 in France. And the result pays off. Not only is the film already released in the United States a hit, but the interviews with the actresses have gone viral on social networks.
The tears shed by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo during most of the interviews, widely reported on social networks, have even become a reason for discussion, and sometimes mockery.
If many Internet users seem touched by the emotion of the two actresses, others are more critical and describe these interviews as “embarrassing”.
Viral sequence
One of these interviews, in particular, became a meme. Tracy E. Gilchrist, the journalist for an LGBT media outlet, explains to the two actresses how people appropriate the lyrics of the song Defying Gravity and cling to it. “I didn’t know that was the case,” replies Cynthia Erivo, very moved.
It was the expression used by the journalist – “holding space”, which can be translated here as “to hang on” – which gave the scene its virality.
She even explained it to Variety, emphasizing that she had done this interview just after the election of Donald Trump, who was particularly hostile to the LGBT community. “For me, “hanging on” is listening to these words again and finding comfort or inspiration in them.”
Tears and little finger
A little overwhelmed by the number of reactions this sequence has generated, Tracy E. Gilchrist points out: “Of course, there are cynics and detractors, but I try not to pay too much attention to it.”
Many on TikTok are relaying this extract and having fun with the expression “holding space”, which sounds strange in the context of a song. Some people make sketches of it, taking the expression literally. In English “Holding space” literally means “to keep the place”. Dozens of videos on TikTok depict, often quite comically, this famous “holding space for Defying Gravity”.
Internet users are also very amused by the attitude of Ariana Grande, who, in this same interview, grabs Cynthia Erivo’s little finger to support her.
Many videos are also circulating showing Ariana Grande on the verge of tears, or downright crying during interviews. Some have been viewed several hundred thousand times on X and on TikTok.
Handkerchiefs and helicopter
In another sequence, she comforts Cynthia Erivo, again very emotional, and as a helicopter flies over them, she waves her off. Other interviews also end with the interviewer and actresses in tears, exchanging tissues.
Crying in interviews has even become a subject in itself for actresses. “We cried at least 100 times today, sorry,” said Ariana Grande during an interview, as she was about to shed another tear. “We can’t do anything about it, we’re not doing it on purpose,” adds Cynthia Erivo.
For this film, Universal invested heavily in marketing. The actresses Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, but also the actors Jeff Goldblum and Jonathan Bailey gave numerous interviews. And the studios have formed partnerships with more than 400 brands for derivative products. Even the Empire State Building was adorned with the colors of the two heroines of the film, pink and green.
Released on November 22 in the United States, the musical got off to a dazzling start. With $114 million in revenue, Jon Chu’s film is off to the best start for a feature film adapted from a Broadway musical.
Created by Stephen Schwartz in 2003, the musical Wicked is both a prequel and a rewriting of the Wizard of Oz.
