‘Wicked’ stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo admit they were lost during goofy ‘holding space’ interview that still has internet puzzled

The stars of the hit movie “Wicked” have finally addressed their strangest interview moment from a pre-release press tour loaded with awkward viral clips.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande raised the internet’s collective eyebrows with their response to a bizarre statement by Out magazine reporter Tracy Gilchrist last month, who told the duo she had seen posts online that people were “holding space” with one of the blockbuster’s big musical numbers.

Erivo and Grande appeared to have a strong emotional reaction to the scribe’s puzzling turn of phrase, and a clip of the encounter garnered tens of millions of views, prompting some viewers to ask if they were having a “fever dream.”

In a new interview in Variety, the actresses took different approaches to explaining their responses.

Erivo she said reacted so strongly because she didn’t know people were “holding space” with her character’s breakout song and “really feeling power in that,” but chalked it up to the fact that she “hasn’t been looking” for documented instances.

“I mean, it’s been happening on some platforms. I mean, I guess. I had no idea that this thing was going on,” she said..