The musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as witches Glinda and Elphaba, has swarmed my feed the past two months. 

From mass brand collaborations, speculation about the main actress’s emotional and physical health, internet hype, and fan confrontation – it felt nearly impossible to not go and see it.  

So, naturally my friend Violet and I hit the nearest theater as soon as Thanksgiving break began, with her dressed in green and me in pink.

Saving the internet drama for later, I thought it was a very captivating movie that held my attention for nearly its entirety – which is saying something for two-and-a-half-hour movie that’s only part one. 

I will admit that I had never seen the original “Wicked” on Broadway, and I only watched the original “The Wizard of Oz” the night before because I wanted some sort of baseline knowledge. I realize now that it may not have even been necessary, due to the simple relationship of “Wicked” as its prequel. 

The music, choreography, set and costumes were all beautifully executed. I was shocked to find out that most of the sets were not CGI, but actually real! The 9 million tulips planted on the outskirts of Munchkinland and the 16-ton train that transports Glinda and Elphaba to Emerald City were real.

That begins to explain its $150 million dollar budget. 

There was speculation about if Grande was fit to play Glinda. I undoubtedly thought she was. I’m not really an “Arianator,” but I’ve kept up with her acting and music since her role in “Victorious,” and she evidently rebranded herself for this production. This drove the success of the film and doubts accusations of her simply being a “popularity hire.” 

Erivo, though not an A-list celebrity, was equally as magnificent. In fact, one of my favorite songs cinematically was “The Wizard and I” because of her delivery and brilliant shots. 

Now, moving on to the controversies—beginning with speculation about Grande and Erivo’s physical and emotional health. 

Obviously, I can’t know the state of either of their health right now. Even though they seem to have lost weight since they started filming in 2022, there is no other evidence for them having eating disorders or enduring abuse on set, and Grande herself claimed to actually be healthier than she was several years ago. 

Also, there are so many other factors that influence how a person looks. Cosmetic surgery, self-tanner, hair, makeup, camera lenses, photo lighting and editing, just to name a few. Any of these elements can make the same person look drastically different on the same day. 

In terms of emotional health, I agree that most of the press interviews have been highly emotional, with tears triggered at many simple questions and statements. I don’t see anything wrong with poking a little fun at this, even they do. But I’m not alarmed by it enough to speculate that “something bad must’ve happened on set,” like some are.

Now onto fan drama. Many have probably heard of Erivo’s backlash at a fan edit of the “Wicked” poster to more closely resemble the 2003 original. The revised poster made several edits—such as adjusting Grande’s hand and changing Erivo’s lipstick color, but what struck Erivo was her eyes being covered by the brim of her witch’s hat, rather than her looking down the barrel of the camera. 

Erivo called out thea fan on her Instagram, saying, “I am a real-life human being, who chose to look right down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer, because without words we communicate with our eyes…to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is deeply hurtful.” 

Two weeks later, she reflected on her reaction, describing it as a “human moment of wanting to protect little Elphaba” and “I probably should have called my friends.”

Nonetheless, I thought it was a massive overreaction that shamed an innocent fan and was terrible PR. The fan, by the account name @wickedmexicofans, initially took the poster down but later reposted it, justifying their decision. 

“While I deleted initially as I felt it was the right thing to do, fan posters have been around for as long as movies have existed. I never meant to cause any harm, and the poster is just a homage to the original Broadway poster, just like the movie’s recreation is,” they posted on X.

Regardless of the drama, I thought it was a great film, and moreover it had really impressive marketing. Though their hundreds of brand collaborations may have been a bit much, their internet hype made me, and millions of others excited in a way that really hasn’t happened since last year’s “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”