A Wicked interview clip with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande almost crying over “Defying Gravity” is fast becoming a meme. The clip from the press event for the highly anticipated film went viral on Twitter just before the movie’s release date, with social media users baffled over Erivo’s response to the interviewer’s claim that people were “holding space” for the song.
What she meant by “holding space” or whether this was actually a widespread phenomenon is currently in question, but some of the statements made by Out Magazine reporter Tracey E. Gilchrist and Erivo’s reaction are turning into a full meme.
What happened during the Wicked interview?
During the press tour, Erivo and Grande, who play the Wicked Witch and the Good Witch, respectively, sat down with the Out Magazine interviewer to promote the musical ahead of its Nov. 22 release. Gilchrist turned the conversation to the song “Defying Gravity,” suggesting it had a profound impact on certain audiences.
“I’ve seen, this week, people are taking the lyrics of ‘Defying Gravity’ and really holding space with that,” she said. “And feeling power in that.”
“I didn’t know that was happening,” said Erivo, putting her hand to her chest. “That’s really powerful. That’s what I wanted.”
Grande then oddly took hold of Erivo’s forefinger, possibly in support, as Gilchrist went on to claim that she had seen this space holding occur “on a couple posts.”
‘Defying Gravity’ lyrics
It’s easy to understand why the song in question would get such a reaction from the queer audience of Out Magazine, as the lyrics can be interpreted as an allegory for coming out of the closet or generally embracing one’s truth.
I’m through accepting limits
‘Cause someone says they’re so
Some things I cannot change
But ’til I try, I’ll never know!
Too long I’ve been afraid of
Losing love, I guess I’ve lost
Well, if that’s love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I’d sooner buy defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye, I’m defying gravity
And you can’t pull me down
Twitter reacts
On Nov. 21, Twitter user @MashaParty posted the clip from this part of the interview without comment, gaining over 25 million views in a little over a day. Many were baffled by Erivo’s reaction considering the fact that “Defying Gravity” is not a new song, having been a part of the Broadway musical for 20 years.
Although some people may have been newly exposed to the song due to the extreme amount of buzz around the film, Erivo’s reaction still seems overblown to many. Social media users have compared it to how emotional she and Grande have been during previous Wicked interviews, crying real tears more than once during the event.
Combining that with observations of how thin these women are has led some to claim that “anorexia brain” could be the culprit for this strange behavior.
‘Holding Space’ and ‘Defying Gravity’ become Wicked interview memes
Fans had already been reacting to the Wicked interview crying pattern, but the viral Twitter clip pushed it into a full-blown meme. Folks are marveling at the strangeness of the reactions from both actors and poking fun at the interviewer for perhaps overselling how many people were actually “holding space” for the song.
Multiple people have compared the weird vibes to that of Donald Trump interviews. Others are laughing at Grande grabbing Erivo’s finger the way she did. Why did she do that?
On Nov. 24, 2024, X.com user @grovymano wrote, “Knowing what every syllable of this means .. I am too online I am not employed enough.. not locked in enough” above a screenshot of a TikTok with text reading, “When I’m in a queen never cry lookalike competition at Charli XCX epilepsy square and my opponent is a solo poly hijabi amputee who’s holding space for defying gravity.”
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- ‘Savannah, slow down’: Omarosa interview quote becomes a TikTok meme
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