Ariana Grande Reacts to Viral ‘Holding Space’WickedInterview Meme: ‘I Didn’t Know What Any Part of It Meant’

Mar. 15, 2025

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.Photo:Advocate Channel

Advocate Channel

Ariana Grandeis addressing that “Popular"Wickedmeme!

The singer and actress, 31, admitted in a new interview that she “didn’t know” the meaning behind the “holding space” comment made in the now-viral interview she took part in withCynthia Erivoduring theirWickedpress tour.

“So I had no idea what any part of it meant,” Grande toldVariety, referring to the interview with Out.com that created social media buzz after being posted on the outlet’sInstagramon Nov. 19.

“And then I definitely didn’t understand what was happening and how you responded,” Grande added, referring to Erivo.

“I was like, ‘Oh what did she say, what did you hear?’ And I just wanted to be there because I knew something big was happening. And I didn’t know how to be there,” she said.

Erivo responded emotionally, saying, “I didn’t know that was happening,” before Grande gently held her costar’s finger and long fingernail and tapped it in support.

Fans quickly reposted and recreated the moment on social media following the exchange.

Grande recalled of the interview toVariety, “She said something that meant something to her, then it meant something totally different to [Erivo], and then she tried to kind of get somewhere else. I remember in the moment asking myself, ‘Am I okay? Did I not hear something?' … because she looks like she was about to cry again.”

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Grande and Erivo attend the ‘Journey Through Oz’ tour to celebrate the Australian premiere of ‘Wicked’ in Sydney on Nov. 3.Don Arnold/WireImage

Don Arnold/WireImage

The “7 Rings” singer then shared that she decided to grab Erivo’s finger at that moment “because I [thought] you might need something."

“And I don’t know what the tapping was about,” Grande continued, as Erivo jokingly added, “Tension, tension."

Grande then reflected on all the memes about the interview that were shared on social media, stating that they were “so beautiful.”

“I feel really relieved that the world had the same experience with this moment that I did, because I felt like, ‘Oh I’m not broken.’ The best thing to is to really hold space with that,” Grande joked.

Wicked: Part Oneis in theaters now, withPart Twoset for releaseon Nov. 21, 2025.

source: people.com