Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s viral “holding space” interview on the Wicked press tour has now become a topic of the musical film’s continued promotional push, with the two stars discussing the encounter with Variety.
Just prior to Wicked’s release in November, Out reporter Tracy E. Gilchrist revealed to Grande and Erivo during a junket interview that LGBTQ+ people were “holding space” with the Erivo-sung “Defying Gravity” from the film. The heartfelt-albeit-awkward exchange became instantly meme’d on social media.
Speaking to Variety in a new video interview, Grande admitted of the “holding space” interaction, “So I didn’t know what any part of it meant.”
“I didn’t understand the first sentence, and then I definitely didn’t understand what was happening, how you [Erivo] responded.” Grande said. “I was like, ‘Oh, what did she say, what did you hear?’ And I just wanted to be there, because I knew something big was happening, and I didn’t know how to be there.”
“After awhile, I didn’t know how to be there,” Erivo added.
Grande continued, “She said something that meant something to her, and meant something totally different to you, and then she tried to take it somewhere else, and the craziest thing was I remember in the moment, asking myself, ‘Am I okay? Did I not hear something?’ Because [Erivo] looks like she’s about to cry again, and I’m gonna grab this [referring to her holding Erivo’s finger] because it looks like she might need something, and I don’t know what the tapping is about.”
“Tension, tension,” Erivo said of Grande’s finger-tapping. Erivo added that she didn’t know what “queer media” meant, which left her asking herself, “Am I also in queer media, maybe?”
Despite the awkward viral interview, Grande still called the encounter “so beautiful.” “I’m just really relieved that the world had the same experience with this moment that I did, because I felt like, ‘Oh, I’m not broken.’”
Gilchrist later clarified things for those who may have been confused by the interview via Out. “When I posed the question to Cynthia about people holding space with the lyrics to ‘Defying Gravity,’ it was two days after the election, and everyone I knew in the LGBTQ+ community was trying to make sense of what we might be facing. I loved her response, and I love that people are having a laugh, because I know I could use one about now.
“I never considered I’d become a meme,” Gilchrist said regarding the clip going viral. “But as an unrepentant showqueen, I’m thrilled that it’s for something this campy, in response to a movie I love. Now go see Wicked!”
