Cynthia Erivo Questions Jon M. Chu’s Oscars Snub After ‘Wicked’ Got 10 Nods

Cynthia Erivo thinks Wicked‘s Jon M. Chu deserved a Best Director nomination at the Oscars. In an interview with Variety Friday, the actress, who earned a nod for Best Actress for her role as Elphaba in the film, said she was puzzled that Chu didn’t earn a nod for the film.

“I wish people understood just how much work has to go into creating a big, giant behemoth like Wicked,” Erivo said. “None of that can happen without his vision. It just isn’t possible.”

“He is the who can see who is right for this, who cast us in these roles, who asked for nine million tulips, who says he wants to build a real set so it feels embedded in reality,” she added. “There is a kind of vision that you have to have in order to be in control of something that could run away from you very quickly if you don’t know what to do.”

Wicked earned 10 nominations at this year’s Academy Awards, including for Best Picture and Best Original Score, Best Sound, and Best Production Design. Along with Erivo’s Best Actress nod, Ariana Grande is up for Best Supporting Actress.

In her interview, Erivo, said “we have another film coming and he made two films at the same time,” referring to Wicked sequel Wicked: For Good.

“I think he is an exquisite director,” she said. “The people that he put in charge of every department, that also takes skill.”

Grande previously spoke to Variety about Chu’s snub, calling him “incredibly brilliant.”

“All of the other nominations stem from Jon. I know he feels like seeing Wicked be celebrated is a celebration of him as well,” she told the outlet. “We just got off Facetime, and I told him how much I love him, and the truth, which is that absolutely none of this could have happened without his leadership, brilliance, empathy and thoughtfulness.”