Cynthia Erivo is officially sick of talking about “Wicked”.
During a recent interview with Variety, the actress, 39, was given the challenge of trying to remember lines and lyrics from some of her most memorable works. Given the popularity of the two-part flick based on the Broadway hit, one would obviously expect a line from Elphaba in Wicked to pop up somewhere during the game.
The three-time Academy Award-nominated star anticipated the moment, offering a visibly awkward response when it came in an interview clip now circulating online.
The tense moment erupted when Erivo was handed a card requesting she perform the climactic riff from Wicked song Defying Gravity. For those who are unsure what that is, it’s the famous high note Elphaba belts out from her broomstick at the very end of the first film.
It’s also one that Erivo has performed time and time again on chat shows, interviews, red carpet moments, and probably at dinner parties – but no longer, it seems.
“No,” she simply replied with a smile.
Respecting her refusal, they move on to the next question, but things didn’t get much better. It was another Wicked request.
“Oh we’re really going to try and get one from Wicked aren’t we?” she asked before answering.
“’You’re the only friend I ever had’: This is Elphaba in Wicked.”
But the star had more to say.
“Do you mind if we do another question that isn’t about Wicked? Because I feel like I’ve spent the last two years talking about it and I think we have an opportunity to start talking about something else,” she asked.
“Is that OK?” she continued, looking at someone off camera.
“Because I love Wicked, but I’ve just talked about it… ad nauseum.”
Plenty of fans were praising the actress online for her confidence in setting boundaries in topics she doesn’t want to discuss.
“The way Cynthia set boundaries regarding questions about Wicked, I didn’t think I could respect them more,” one person wrote on the YouTube clip of the interview.
“I’m so happy she said she wanted to talk about things other than Wicked. no one ever mentions her movie Drift 🙁 it’s so amazing!” another wrote.
Meanwhile, others said that it was “sad” and “depressing” that the star was so over a film that once sparked so much joy in her.
Erivo starred in Wicked (part one, in 2024) and Wicked: For Good (part two, in 2025)opposite Ariana Grande.
The first film earned over US $758 million at the global box office and nabbed Erivo an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, while the film itself scored 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and took home wins for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.
The second film was less successful and earned zero Oscar nominations, but still raked in more than half a billion US dollars at the box office worldwide.