Wicked has pretty much been the movie of the year, with Ariana Grande starring as Glinda the Good and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba the wicked witch, Michelle Yeoh as Elphaba’s teacher Madame Morribel, Jeff Goldblum as the wizard, and Peter Dinklage as a goat. 

But recently my “for you” page was filled with Wicked, not from the movie, from the press tour. Most press tours follow the same rinse-and-repeat formula of incredibly media-trained actors and actresses saying vague nothings about themselves, the movie, and their co-actors. And I really didn’t expect anything different from the Wicked press tour because no one screams media-trained to me like a pop star and a West End actress.   

That’s why my jaw hit the floor when I first searched “Ariana Grande’s Wicked press tour crying,” and five different videos popped up. Every moment equal to or stranger than Cynthia Erivo crying after being told that people are making edits with Defying Gravity as the sound, something that has been done since the early 2000s, and Ariana Grande comforting her by grabbing, specifically her middle finger. 

But after watching more of these interviews, I went from being confused to being happy. Here are two women overcome with emotion for a piece of work they put a very high amount of their life into, and you could tell this was more than just a check to them. I recommend that we hold space and feel power in these interviews so we get more press tours like Wicked and less empty, vague plastic.