“There is something very sinister happening behind the scenes on the set of Wicked, and somebody needs to do a wellness check on both of these young women,” Brown continued. “Apparently, everyone’s gay. The Wizard is gay, the witches are gay, the professors are gay, the animals are gay. Even though literally all of this is fantasy.”
Brown added that she wasn’t reacting this way due to fear. “I don’t think any of us feel threatened by you,” she said. “We’re just annoyed, frankly, that you are trying to canonically change our most beloved stories that tell timeless tales of the battle between good and evil.”
For Brett Cooper, who got her start at Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire and launched her own podcast earlier this year, the affection between Grande and Erivo had a disturbing subtext. “I really think, at the end of the day, it’s like this self-obsession with each other and an elitism,” she said this week. “They think that they and this, like, romance that they have with each other, and their connection with the project, is more important than doing their press.”
It’s cliché to say that every right-wing influencer is a failed actor, but in this case, the notion seems to be guiding their collective response to Wicked. Cooper said that doing community theater in Atlanta taught her that acting alongside others can lead to strong friendships, but she believes Grande and Erivo are taking it too far. “Genuinely, as a theater kid, I could say this is not normal,” Cooper said. “Like, ladies, what is the point of this?”
She then made the implication very clear. “Anyway, all I’m saying is that it is 2025. It is safe to come out. Gay rights have been secured,” she said. “You are welcome to tell us all what is going on behind closed doors. Anyway, that’s just my theory.”
For decades, conservatives have responded to cultural change by starting their own institutions and making their own versions of the Hollywood films they hate, with notably mixed results. Maybe they’ll try the same with The Wizard of Oz and finally create a version completely shorn of any rainbows or whimsy.
