At the Wicked: For Good premiere, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo reignited the culture-clash over Wicked and its connection to LGBT messaging, once again insisting that the original children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum promoted Pride values.
In a red-carpet interview that quickly went viral, Grande delivered a quote sure to stir debate across pop culture and literary circles alike.
Ariana Grande at the premiere for Wicked: “Oz has always been a queer place, a safe place for queer people, for every different color of the rainbow… You’re safe with us. The gayer the better.” pic.twitter.com/LOoCklev2i
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 11, 2025
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“Oz has always been a qu**r place, a safe place for qu**r people, for every different color of the rainbow,” Grande said. “Read the L. Frank Baum books — it’s the truth. You’re safe with us. The gayer the better.”
The interviewer then asked both actresses if they had a message for “Gelphie stans,” a subset of fans who romantically “ship” Glinda and Elphaba — a relationship that does not exist in either the Broadway musical or the original novel.
Erivo laughed and replied, “Oh, we love you too!” Grande echoed the sentiment.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande sing at the Oscars – YouTube, Oscars
It was another moment merging Broadway fandom with social activism — and for many longtime fans of The Wizard of Oz, it signaled a growing effort to reinterpret a century-old children’s story through a modern ideological lens. The viral clip already has hundreds of thousands of views, sparking fierce debate over whether the Land of Oz is truly being reclaimed for the LGBT community or simply being rewritten in its image.
Déjà Vu From Last Year
If this all sounds familiar, it should. During the 2024 promotional tour for the first Wicked film, the same duo made nearly identical remarks. Back then, Grande said Oz had “always been a queer place… even from the L. Frank Baum books,” and later suggested her character Glinda “might be a little in the closet.”
Erivo quickly agreed at the time, calling Oz a world “for everyone.”
Ariana Grande in Wicked – Peacock
The actors have clearly doubled down a year later — only this time, Grande’s “the gayer the better” line pushes things even further. It’s become clear that the Wicked: For Good marketing narrative isn’t just about friendship and acceptance anymore; it’s a full-blown LGBT cultural statement.
Rewriting a Classic
L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, first published in 1900, was written for children and rooted in the moral storytelling of its day. The author was traditionally minded, married to Maud Gage Baum for over 40 years, and by all historical accounts never wrote a single line implying same-sex romance in his Oz novels.
Dorothy, Glinda, and The Wicked of the West in The Wizard of Oz – MGM
Yet modern reinterpretations of Baum’s work have taken on lives of their own. The Wicked stage musical recast the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda as misunderstood young women whose friendship transcends politics, prejudice, and power.
That theme of “outsiders finding belonging” that’s so prevalent in Wicked has naturally resonated with some in the LGBT community — but claiming the original novels were intended as Pride allegories is a leap even die-hard Oz historians find impossible to support.
Cultural and Commercial Crossroads
Universal’s two-part Wicked film saga remains a major box-office event, with the first installment making almost $500 million domestic and the worldwide total hitting $700 million. Yet every new comment like this risks alienating part of its family audience. What was once a universal fairy tale about courage and friendship is now being framed as a social-identity parable.
A Screenshot of Ariana Grande From the Wicked Movie Trailer, YouTube – Universal Pictures
That divide highlights an increasingly common phenomenon in Hollywood: beloved classics being recast through modern ideology. For some, that re-imagining brings representation and relevance. For others, it turns timeless storytelling into targeted messaging.
In this case, the contrast couldn’t be sharper — The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a Gilded-Age morality tale for children versus Wicked as a contemporary symbol of LGBT empowerment.
Final Thoughts
Whether audiences see this as progress or pandering, the takeaway is clear: Wicked is now as much a cultural lightning rod as a musical fantasy.
A screenshot from the trailer to Wicked, YouTube
Grande’s “the gayer the better” declaration will no doubt resonate with some fans — and frustrate others who just wanted to return to Oz without a lecture. As Universal celebrates Wicked’s continuing success, perhaps the real question is whether Baum himself would even recognize the world his pen created.
Do you think L. Frank Baum was promoting modern Pride ideology in his original Oz books? Or are today’s stars projecting their own worldview onto a story written for children more than a century ago? Sound off below — we’d love to hear what you think.
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The sooner she dies from whatever wasting disease she has, the better.
Took a run through the ugly forest and hit every other tree.
Yeah. Do me a favor. No more stories on this abandoned daughter of the nba commissioner. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeuck!
Once more going after children’s material
There is no way those two people are real. 😂😂 how they do the animations or puppetry Wizarding is really incredible. But yeah, naw… thise aren’t real people
Projection: thy name is Ariana. Not to mention her Gargoyle co-star.
In an effort at appeasement – especially considering the sexuality (I use that term loosely) of her gargoyle co-star – people are desperate to find gay subtext in anything and everything. I hope people see this anorexic wench (and aforementioned gargoyle costar) for the disgusting people they are on the inside while they pretend to virtue.
Once upon a time I thought she was pretty decent looking and a great singer but once I looked further than the SNL skit, there’s nothing there but ugly.
“people are desperate to find gay subtext in anything and everything.”
They really are. It’s so pathetic. And it never matters to them if it involves children.
Speaking as someone who’s favorite book as a kid was The Wizard of Oz, and who’s read it a hundred times, she can piss right off.
The sequel might make less than they think. They are upsetting a lot of right-minded women out there. And, the first movie might have been a bit disappointing to them, to boot.