Ariana Grande accused of 'queerbaiting' after her comment about Wicked character Glinda's sexuality

Ariana Grande reflected connected her Wicked character's sexuality successful a caller interview, stating that Glinda 'might beryllium a small successful the closet.'

Grande, 31, and her co-star Cynthia Erivo, 37, who plays the Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba, sat down with U.K. outlet Gay Times, and were asked astir fans who vessel their characters arsenic a romanticist duo.

However, Ariana's answers sparked backlash from immoderate fans, who accused her of 'queerbaiting.' 

'Glinda mightiness beryllium a small successful the closet. You ne'er know! Give it a small much time,' she said successful the interview. 

Grande besides said Oz is simply a 'celebration of uniqueness' adding, 'everyone is conscionable truthful beautifully queer and that roots each the mode backmost to the L. Frank Baum books, where, like, virtually the astir commonly utilized connection successful the books is "queer."'

The prima went connected to accidental that 'everyday successful the Emerald City [the superior metropolis of the fictional Land of Oz] is simply a Pride parade... adjacent similar the chickens, those chickens are gay.' 

Elsewhere successful the interrogation she called Doctor Dillamond, played by Peter Dinklage, a 'gay icon.' 

Meanwhile, Erivo said of her greenish witch, 'I deliberation Elphie, she goes wherever the upwind blows.'

'I deliberation she loves Glinda. I deliberation she loves love. And I don't deliberation there's thing incorrect with celebrating the heavy transportation that some of them have.'

'They bash person a relationship. It is existent love, which is astir apt wherefore radical are shipping it, you know?' Erivo added. 'Because what they physique with each different is an unbreakable enslaved and love.'

Grande past said of her Good Witch character, 'And spot and truth. Just specified a harmless abstraction for 1 another, which is what each relationships should be, whether it's romanticist oregon platonic.'

'I mean, it is conscionable a existent love, and I deliberation that transcends sexuality,' Grande shared.

'It's conscionable benignant of a heavy information wrong each other. And that's astir apt wherefore they vessel it.'

The interviewer past asked if everyone successful Oz was LGBTQ+. 

'I deliberation so, a small bit,' Cynthia said. 'Yeah,' Ariana concurred.

In Wicked, Glinda and Elphaba commencement arsenic enemies but turn into friends portion they are successful school. 

There are romanticist plots successful the film, arsenic Glinda pursues Prince Fiyero, who's secretly funny successful Elphaba, and Boq (played by Grande's real-life fellow Ethan Slater) pines for Glinda, who doesn't instrumentality his affections. 

Following the interrogation fans rapidly took online, with 1 writing: 'the queerbaiting is getting excessively retired of hand.'

Queerbaiting is simply a selling method successful which creators hint astatine same-sex romance oregon different LGBTQ+ representation, without really depicting it.

Another asked: 'Why can’t they conscionable beryllium platonic?' 

'OH????' different 1 simply said. 

Another instrumentality added: 'ariana reposting gelphie memes onto her story, liking a station abt the angiosperm fields being lesbian colored, saying the lad is excavation is astir elphaba, and past saying glinda is successful the closet…' 

'Ariana is going hard connected this ship! First she says Glinda is simply a small successful the closet and present she's wearing Elphie's hat?! Girl.' 

However immoderate fans had a antithetic outlook, with 1 commenting connected X: 'Ariana confirmed Glinda is simply a small retired of the closet! We won!' 

'ariana grande has officially won my endorsement by acknowledging lesbian glinda convey you,' idiosyncratic other chimed in. 

The starring ladies besides did different interrogation with GLAAD, wherever they were asked astir what they hoped LGBTQ audiences would summation from Wicked.

'That you merit each the bully things. That your quality is what makes you special. That your queerness is beautiful. That I emotion you.'

'Elphaba is conscionable similar you, and she understands what it feels similar to beryllium unsocial and to consciousness different, but that doesn't marque you immoderate little peculiar than you were calved to be,' Erivo said.

Speaking astir the phantasy satellite of The Wizard of Oz, Grande added: 'Oz is simply a precise queer spot and has ever been, adjacent from the L. Frank Baum books. It's ever been queer.'

While successful the midst of promo mode, the 2 stars of the film issued apologizes for each the tears they've been shedding arsenic they talked astir their relationship and the movie.

'We've cried 500 times today. And honestly, this is simply a PSA. So atrocious guys,' Grande could beryllium heard saying successful a video shared by E! News.

'It is what it is,' her British-born co-star added. 'There's conscionable thing we tin bash astir it.'

Grande jumped backmost in: 'I can't imagine, and you cognize what? If you're going to remark saying however annoying it is, I'll accidental it first,' she said sitting adjacent to Erivo for an interview. 

'I said it first. I'm annoyed. I'm tired. My teardrop ducts… I'm tired, emotionally tired.'

'We've travel done a massive, monolithic happening and we've truly stuck together,' Erivo explained.

Jon M. Chu directed the highly-anticipated adaptation, which besides stars Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, and Michelle Yeoh. 

Wicked: Part One hits theaters successful the U.S. connected November 22, and past the sequel, Wicked Part Two, volition travel the adjacent year, premiering successful cinemas connected November 21, 2025.