OPINION - Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's Wicked press tour is a surrealist fever dream — what is going on?

With a star-studded formed including Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey and Jeff Goldblum, the movie was ever going to beryllium an all-consuming, large bucks, spectacle. But its property circuit implicit the past fewer months has defied each expectations of unhinged Hollywood insanity.

I rather simply bash not retrieve a clip erstwhile this movie wasn’t successful the news. First, determination was the ungraded surrounding co-stars Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s daze relationship (he allegedly near his woman and newborn babe for the singer, and past the satellite knew Grande herself was happily married). Then, determination was the bizarre Cynthia Erivo AI-generated poster debacle, erstwhile a instrumentality edited 1 of the film’s authoritative posters – hiding Erivo’s eyes truthful that it looked much similar the archetypal Broadway poster – and she slammed it arsenic “the wildest astir violative happening I’ve ever seen… to edit my look and fell my eyes is to erase me.” Right. And earlier this month, Mattel was forced to apologise aft accidentally printing the code to a porn website connected its Wicked dolls, alternatively of the film’s authoritative site.

There has besides been each the interest astir some Grande and Erivo’s somewhat disturbing weight-loss – some were bladed earlier the movie started shooting, but person go virtually non-existent since – resulting successful Grande posting a video connected TikTok urging fans to halt speculating astir her weight.

But astir captivating of each has been Erivo and Grande’s seemingly unwavering dedication to perpetually being successful tears. Appearing everyplace holding hands successful a benignant of cult-like co-dependence, these 2 rather simply cannot halt crying. In each interrogation astir the film, adjacent the astir pedestrian questions similar whether they enjoyed moving with each different oregon what they did erstwhile they weren’t filming, punctual a tearful breakdown, arsenic they gush implicit however they’ve changed each others lives oregon the satellite oregon immoderate it mightiness be.

Was determination a state leak connected set? Are they each connected acid?

The pièce de résistance came in a viral interrogation posted this weekend, which saw a newsman from Out mag pass Erivo that radical person been “holding abstraction for” the lyrics of Defying Gravity, and “really uncovering powerfulness successful that” (whatever the hellhole that means). “I didn’t cognize that was happening,” Erivo responds, tearing up, arsenic Grande nods earnestly and grips her co-star’s singular scale digit successful support. “That’s truly powerful. That’s what I wanted.” The interviewer past clarifies that she doesn’t cognize however wide the holding abstraction improvement is, but that she has seen a “couple of posts” arsenic she works successful “queer media”.

I cannot archer you however galore times I person watched this video. The finger, the nonsensical therapy-speak, the revelation of a “couple of posts”: it the apotheosis of Hollywood gobbledegook distilled into a thirty-second surrealist fever dream. I haven’t seen Wicked yet, but I already cognize it can’t apical this masterpiece.

Was determination a state leak connected set? Are they each connected acid? Delirious from hunger? Why is everyone taking this movie truthful seriously? They’ve made a movie musical, not a cure for cancer. Perhaps it is because, contempt Erivo and Grande being immense A-list stars, they are some yet inactive philharmonic theatre kids astatine heart, and they truly are playing their imagination roles. Which is precise sweet, of course. But they bash look to person been cocooned successful a precocious schoolhouse philharmonic echo enclosure for 2 years, precocious disconnected their ain supply, and possibly weren’t rather acceptable to beryllium re-released into the existent satellite wherever things similar “holding space” don’t really mean anything.

To beryllium clear, this is each said with the utmost love. I americium wholly obsessed with each of this, and I adore everyone involved. The movie looks spectacular and some women are insanely talented – they’re besides conscionable intelligibly a spot insane too. It’s a level of annoying that’s truthful awesome to execute that it circles backmost to endearing.

Fortunately for each of us, this isn’t really the extremity for the Wicked property circuit – Wicked: Part Two, the 2nd fractional of the adaptation, is acceptable to merchandise successful November 2025. I, for one, americium holding abstraction for it.

Emma Loffhagen is simply a London Standard writer