Most Americans know the story of ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ Dorothy, Wicked Witch of the West, Tin Man, and Glinda the Good Witch are all prominent characters that people still reference today. Ranging from mentions in movies to Halloween costumes. No matter how iconic this fan-proclaimed “classic” movie is, the infamous mishaps on set have earned this movie the title of cursed.
‘Wicked’ the musical movie is based on the Tony award-winning musical of the same name. The movie includes all the songs and storylines from the musical as well as pulling in more details from the original work of fiction ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire written in 1995. ‘Wicked’ is the origin story of the characters in ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ The movie stars pop icon Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good Witch and award-winning singer and actress Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.
The movie has received groundbreaking reviews and love, but the lead stars have caused worry among fans that the ‘Wicked’ set might be cursed like the people believe ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was.
Grande and Erivo have shared an intense connection throughout the filming, production, and publicizing of the ‘Wicked’ movie. They share matching tattoos that relate to either their relationship or their characters. These tattoos include a secret one they refuse to show anyone. The pair is often seen holding onto one another during interviews and tends to get very emotional when asked questions about the movie itself or the production.
One interviewer asked the pair, “What is one way that the person sitting next to you has changed you for good?” This question references the song ‘For Good’ from ‘Wicked’ the musical. After the initial shock of the question, both women began to start to get emotional thinking over their time together. Grande began to tear up while Erivo answered the question. Sophomore Ally Burman defended their reactions saying, “As a theater kid, I understand all the crying and emotional moments after the show. Both of them have finally gotten their dream role, and because they wanted those roles for so long, you gain an emotional attachment to them. They were filming for nearly 4 years, it’s reasonable to be so upset about ending that.” This isn’t the only interview where this has happened though. To most viewers, it seems as though Grande and Erivo are constantly tearing up over this movie more than would be expected. Senior Rowyna Kindl said, “I find it extremely funny how weirdly entwined the stars are, and how it reflects to the normal world how attached theater kids become to one another. That being said, it goes a little further than I’ve personally seen most theater kids be with one another.” This is the common consensus among most viewers. Fans have created compilations of them crying due to the oddity of their reactions.
While some fans make jokes and pass it off as ‘Theater Kids being Theater Kids’, some fans are genuinely worried about them. They believe that something traumatic has happened on this set that has led to the actors becoming so close to one another. English teacher Ms. Norowzi said, “Some people have speculated that it’s a friendship being promoted for publicity’s sake, but I think their behavior is not quite the same as other duos we have seen pushed by franchise PR. I think both women are incredibly talented and were under an immense amount of pressure to live up to the expectations of the fans of the original musical and likely bonded amidst that stress in maybe some unusual ways.” The duo has been accused by fans on TikTok of ‘Eating Disorder Bonding’, a term used to describe people who have become close over their shared eating disorders. This has been shut down by fans and Grande herself. Grande has dealt with body image issues in the past and the obsessive commenting on women’s bodies has made being out in public ten times harder for celebrities.
The idea of the infamous ‘The Wizard of Oz Curse’ spreading to the ‘Wicked’ movie has mainly come from how emotional and vulnerable the actors have been. This accusation seems absurd considering ‘The Wizard of Oz Curse’ originated from poor set decisions and overall no care for the well-being of the actors. Both Jack Haley, the original TinMan, and Margaret Hamilton, the original Wicked Witch of The West dealt with makeup issues. Haley got an infection in his eye due to the aluminum dust in the face paint. Hamilton received burns from her copper face paint. The dog, Terry, who played Toto, was stepped on by another actor. There is also a possibility that the fake snow used on set was asbestos and that Dorothy actress, Judy Garland may have been sexually harassed and assaulted by other cast and crew members.
Humanities teacher Mrs. Holmes said, “From my perspective as both an AP Psychology and Civics teacher, I am not inclined to believe that ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was cursed. Instead, I see the pitfalls and tragedies surrounding the production as a result of greed and prioritization of commercial success over the health and well-being of the cast and crew.” Kindl had a different view on ‘The Wizard of Oz Curse’ saying, “‘The Wizard of Oz’ was cursed by both the time it was produced in and by the theater curses following it, and the lack of discretion to stop halfway through as conditions just got worse and worse. Truly my heart goes out to Judy Garland for what she endured, but there has to be some supernatural element to the production to cause all that happened.”
Considering the drastic difference between what happened on the sets of each it is clear that the ‘Wicked’ movie is most likely not suffering from a curse but from two actors having so much love for the movie they spent years working on. ‘The Wizard of Oz’ probably didn’t suffer from a curse either; it was just production companies obsessed with greed. Then again, the only ones who know what happened on those sets were the cast and crew. Maybe there is a curse, or maybe society needs to treat celebrities with more respect and empathy.
