Kristin Chenoweth hit a new level of #Goals for me when she declared she doesn’t get up before 11am, and doesn’t speak before noon. I have the night owl tendencies to justify the first part, but not the golden, operatic singing voice like Kristin’s to justify the second. So it goes. It’s also been a delight to watch Kristin, the OG Glinda when Wicked opened on Broadway in 2003, be such a visible presence on the premiere trail for the movie adaptation that is currently defying box office gravity. The show is a huge part of her life — hell, she even named her memoir A Little Bit Wicked — and she is still proud of it. Which is why Kristin recently piped up (presumably after 12pm), against a boycott of the movie. Long-time haters One Million Moms have started a petition asking parents not to see Wicked because of its magical and LGBTQ content. Witches and sorcery and gay people, oh my!
Kristin Chenoweth is clapping back at One Million Moms after the organization started a boycott of the Wicked movie.
The conservative group’s latest petition asks parents to pledge to not see Jon M. Chu’s movie musical due to it “pushing the LGBTQ agenda on families, particularly children.”
“Of course, the musical contains a tremendous amount of witchcraft and sorcery, and that content prompts most parents to avoid taking their children to see Wicked. But the film also shows not-so-discrete crossdressing and men crushing on men, which parents may not expect,” the petition states. “Instead of an uplifting Broadway musical about friendship and family, talents and resources were used to create a dark movie that also pushes wokeness.”
Chenoweth, who originated the role of Glinda in the Broadway musical of Wicked in 2003, responded to One Million Moms’ petition, writing in a comment on Instagram, “Everyone knows the ‘one million Moms’ are a mere few hundred. Maybe. it’s called entertainment. Artistry. I am a Christian woman or originated the role of Glinda and all the silliness that these women spew out of hate. No no no. I can’t help it : i try to love em anyways. For they don’t get it. For anyone who wants to see girl power, then go so WICKED. Onstage or in a movie theater.”
The movie adaptation of the beloved stage musical stars Arianda Grande as Galinda and Cynthis Erivo as Elphaba. Wicked, which tells the untold story of the witches of Oz, has been met with box office success since opening in theaters Nov. 22, scoring the highest opening for a Broadway adaptation.
Bless their hearts, the title of One Million Moms’ petition reads, “Warning: ‘Wicked’ Not Only Includes Witchcraft But Also LGBTQ Content!” Plus the line quoted above about parents naturally opting not to take their kids to see Wicked because of the sorcery! It’s the legitimate fear of witchcraft content that kills me. As for the LGBTQ content in Wicked, which the petition says “blindsided” them, I can see how the themes of a 20-year-old musical based on a 30-year-old novel written by an out and proud author (and family man!) really must have caught them off guard. (Note: previous line to be read with sarcasm.) If you read the entire petition, which I did so you didn’t have to, OMM seem to coalesce their grievance around the idea that the filmmakers are sneaking these “woke” themes (of magic and gay feelings) into a children’s film. To which my response is, who said Wicked was a children’s film? The book is squarely for the young adult audience, and I always thought the musical hit that sweet spot as well? Somewhere between a Disney musical and Spring Awakening is where I see Wicked. If these parents are being “blindsided,” they haven’t done their homework and are probably just assuming that Wicked is just like The Wizard of Oz. Which, incidentally, I’d love to know if they consider to be a wholesome film for children, because it still has plenty of witches and sorcery. Or is it ok to have the dark arts in a movie so long as they’re depicted as BAD with no gray areas?
Anyway, thank you to Kristin the Good Witch, for using all of her 4’11” to stand up for girl power, artistry, and love over hate. Now, who gets to have the fun of telling these small-minded moms that nearly all of the musicals they love come from the genius of gay artists? Also, here’s hoping none of these moms picked up the Wicked Barbies with packaging that linked to an adult website!
Photos credit: Getty Images for Netflix and via Netflix press and Instagram