Wicked: For Good director Jon M. Chu has had enough of the criticism of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo‘s friendship throughout the press tour for both musical films.
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At an American Cinematheque For Good screening and Q&A on Monday night (Dec. 1), Chu spoke out against the vitriol being thrown at his Wicked leading ladies for their openness in sharing their deep friendship with the world.
“For us to be at a time when you can have these two amazing women emerge from their shells to share love and friendship and the importance of that, unabashedly, no cynicism; to be able to share that vulnerability and wounds with the world, knowing people are going to come out with their knives, shame on people who put that down,” he says in a fan-filmed clip. “These girls are giving us everything; it is why people around the world are drawn to it. It’s why they love it, and they’re sharing a real friendship that happened on set that I got to be a part of, and we should honor that with everything that we have.”
Grande and Erivo, who both landed Oscar nominations for their acclaimed performances in 2024’s Wicked, frequently went viral on last year’s press tour due to their deeply emotional responses to questions and their physical comfort with one another. Notably, Billboard named the duo’s “holding space” moment, a viral interview clip in which Grande dramatically clutches Erivo’s elongated manicured nail, the No. 10 Greatest Pop Star Meme of All-Time. In addition to its dual Oscar wins, the first Wicked movie also became the highest-grossing musical film adaptation of all time, making over $750 million at the worldwide box office.
Wicked: For Good, which brings the Broadway musical’s second act to the silver screen, boasted a comparatively less aggressive press tour — but Grande and Erivo’s relationship quickly became the dominant talking point. After the press tour ended with a triple-whammy of Grande missing the Brazilian premiere, Erivo defending Grande from a red carpet rusher at the Singaporean premiere and Erivo losing her voice the night of the New York premiere (where Grande also contracted COVID-19), social media devolved into especially nasty attacks on both women’s bodies and appearances, as well as their overall intimacy. Over the holiday weekend (Nov. 29), Grande reposted a clip from a 2024 interview “as a loving reminder to all,” regarding the dangers of openly dissecting and criticizing people’s physical appearance.
Nonetheless, that online chatter didn’t stall Wicked: For Good at the box office. In its opening weekend, the film topped the worldwide box office, grossing $223 million and surpassing its predecessor to earn the highest opening weekend for a Broadway adaptation.
On the Billboard 200, the For Good soundtrack tied the No. 2 peak of its predecessor, with several songs landing on the Hot 100, including “For Good” (No. 43), “No Good Deed” (No. 56), “As Long As You’re Mine” (No. 91) and “The Girl in the Bubble” (No. 100). Furthermore, both Erivo and Grande remain formidable contenders in their respecitive categories at next March’s 98th Academy Awards.
