Journalist Behind That 'Wicked' 'Holding Space' Interview Tries To Explain What That Means

Tracy Gilchrist went viral last week for her comment about the song "Defying Gravity" during an interview with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

Journalist Tracy Gilchrist went viral last week for an interview she did with “Wicked” stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, where she told the actors she’d seen people taking the lyrics of “Defying Gravity,” the musical’s signature showstopper, “and really holding space with that and feeling power in that.”

What exactly does this mean? The two stars seemed to know instinctively. Erivo put her hand to her chest and murmured: “I didn’t know that that was happening. That’s really powerful.” Grande grabbed Erivo’s index finger in support.

The interview went viral on social media, where many people were baffled about what it actually means to “hold space” for a song, and why that assertion landed so powerfully with Erivo and Grande.

Adding to the oddness of the whole thing is that in the interview, Gilchrist almost immediately cited her sources for the claim as “a couple posts,” acknowledging to Grande and Erivo: “I don’t know how widespread.”

“But, you know, I am in queer media,” added Gilchrist, who is vice president of editorial and special projects at the media company Equalpride, and who was interviewing the “Wicked” actors for Out magazine.