‘Wicked’ – Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s ‘Holding Space’ meme, explained

A bizarre clip from the wonderfully strange press tour Evil has inspired a meme due to a confusing conversation between Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and a reporter who asked about “holding space.”

The Evil the press tour seems to have been a long, strange journey for Grande and Erivo, as the two have sparked many viral moments, both delivering strange soundbites and tear up at the slightest provocation.

The massive fan base of Evil includes fans of the same title, second highest grossing Broadway show of all time and Gregory Maguire’s The Wizard of Oz “Alternative History” book that inspired it.

There have of course been many fans who have kept a close eye on the press tour and the stars Evil has provided plenty of viral moments to fuel the discourse.

What happens in ‘Holding Space’ viral ‘Wicked’ clip?

The viral clip was sent to X (Twitter) without comment – it quickly became clear that none were needed as quote tweets did the job.

The clip features journalist Tracey E. Gilchrist, who told Erivo that “people take the lyrics to ‘Defying Gravity’ and really hold space with it, and feel power in it.”

(“Defying Gravity” is a popular song from Evil stage production and film, about empowerment and defying social norms).

Erivo seems surprised by this and puts his hand to her chest and admits, “I didn’t know that happened.” Gilchrist then confirms that she has “seen it” online, and Erivo seems stunned, saying, “That’s really powerful—that’s what I wanted.”

Erivo then turns and looks meaningfully at Grande, who stares back; Grande then reaches out and holds Erivo’s finger, apparently for support. The two appear to be emotionally overwhelmed and at this point Gilchrist seems to be questioning herself and going back a bit in her judgement.

“I’ve seen it on a few posts, I don’t know how widespread,” Gilchrist explains. “But you know, I’m in queer media, it’s my—you know…”

Erivo then replies, “That’s really cool.”

The melodramatic music playing in the background of the clip seemed to be the icing on the cake, adding a layer of surreal mood to an already strange scene.

Commentators immediately reacted with confusion and amusement; many fixated on Grande grabbing Erivo’s finger, and some responded with creative edits.

Many seemed to be under the impression that neither Erivo nor Grande really understood what Gilchrist was saying, and others readily admitted that they had no idea what someone said.

One commentator summed up what the fuss was about in a nutshell, writing: “I can’t tell you what my favorite part of this video is: the solemnity of announcing that people have ‘held space’ for the lyrics of a 20-year-old song, Cynthia acted like she personally wrote it, Ariana stuck to Cynthia’s index finger, or the disclosure of “a few posts.”

What does ‘Holding Space’ mean?

“To hold space” means to witness and validate another person’s emotional state, and Gilchrist seems to have used the term incorrectly, or at least clumsily.

She seems to be referring to Evil fans who felt inspired and empowered by the song, choosing to phrase it in a way that many would describe as “talk therapy.”

Either way, this particular combination of words seems to have never been uttered before, and combined with Erivo’s confused (or confused) response, along with Grande’s reassuring finger grip, inspired many memes.

Many viewers stated that their vocabulary had been irreversibly altered; one commenter wrote: “No video has ever affected me so much in my entire life. I saw it for the first time 12 hours ago and it has completely changed the way I speak.”

Every sentence from the viral clip seemed to ignite its own meme spin-off; one could even say that commentators are “holding space” with the clip.

The nervous, almost dreamlike tone of the video got many people going make comparisons to David Lynch’s work; others compared the moment to a classic Donald Trump meme.

Evil has already earned 19.2 million in previews at the box office, and the viral “holding space” clip marks the last hurray for a unique, sometimes controversial press tour.

The Evil marketing blitz and press tour included many memorable moments, such as Cynthia Erivo insulting a fan-edited movie poster and a batch of Evil Mattel dolls that were pulled from stores due to a misprint on the box that led consumers to a porn website.

The press tour has proven so strange and messy that it has inspired several comedy skits on TikTok.

Evil is the first half of a two-part story telling the sympathetic origins of the Wicked Witch of the West – let’s hope the film is as entertaining as the press tour.

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