Could Glinda the Good Witch also be Glinda the Gay Witch? “Wicked” star Ariana Grande thinks she “might be a little in the closet” — and original Broadway lead Kristin Chenoweth agrees.
In an interview with The Gay Times leading up to the premiere of the movie musical, Grande and co-star Cynthia Erivo discussed the inherent queerness of “Wicked” and the land of Oz.
“Every day in the Emerald City is a Pride parade, right?” Grande said. “Even the chickens… those chickens are gay.” She went on to call out Peter Dinklage’s Dr. Dillamond, Shiz University’s goat history professor, as a “gay icon.”
“I mean, Dr. Dillamond in that Bode cardigan … Let’s talk about it,” she said. “Let’s just talk for a minute about him and his custom tea device as well. With his tea and his cardigan, I’m just throwing it out there!”
Some “Wicked” fans even ship Glinda and Elphaba as a romantic couple. When asked about the possibility, Erivo said: “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with celebrating the deep connection that both of them have. I think they do have a real relationship, it is true love, which is probably why people are shipping it because what they build with each other is an unbreakable bond.”
Grande added that they provide “such a safe space for one another, which is what all relationships should be. So, you know, whether it’s romantic or platonic — Glinda might be a little in the closet — but if there were a time, you never know. Give it a little more time.”
She concluded that “it is just a true love and I think that transcends sexuality.”
It turns out that Grande isn’t the only Glinda to have thought this. When E! News aggregated the interview and posted Grande’s quote on their Instagram, Chenoweth — who originated the role of Glinda in the “Wicked” Broadway musical — commented: “I thought so too way back when…”
Watch The Gay Times’ full interview with Grande and Erivo below.
