Homophobe accuses Wicked of getting “woke”, yes, really

Right-wing pundits and homophobes are apparently surprised to hear the hit musical Evil is queer.

The film adaptation of the smash hit The Wizard of Oz spin-off, which depicts an unlikely friendship that blossoms between two witches, broke box office records for the opening of a Broadway adaptation.

But some commentators have accused the famous camp musical of “waking up”.

The X/Twitter Account “End Wokeness” shared a clip of co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo discussing the queerness of the land of Oz, saying it was “so gay, even the animals in Oz are gay”.

Homophobes and right-wing pundits called the musical “woke”, oddly using the old catchphrase “go wake, go broke” – somehow missing the fact that it took close to $165m (£131m) worldwide at opening weekend.

One user, expressing her frustration that the co-stars would imply that everything in the land of Oz has “always been a queer place”, asked: “Since when?”

The original 1939 film, starring gay icon Judy Garland, is so integral to the queer community that it was referenced in a catchphrase used – especially – by gay men, before homosexuality was legal, to denote their identity: friends of Dorothy.

Queerness is such an integral part of The Wizard of Oz, that Kenya Barris, who is set to direct a remake, assured fans that it would be unapologetically LGBTQ+.

“The original was an allegory and a reflection of the way the world was at the time, with things like the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl,” Black-ish director said in 2022. “We want to turn a mirror to where we are right now and take different characters from the LGBTQ+ community, from different cultural communities and socio-economic communities and tell a story that reflects the world.”

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