Candace Owens' 'fake and gay' clip on Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo goes viral again
-Reuters.
As Wicked: For Good opens in theaters, a year-old podcast clip from commentator Candace Owens has resurfaced and quickly regained traction online.
In the 2024 segment, Owens described Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s widely discussed press-tour chemistry as “really fake and gay,” adding that she considers herself “an expert on things that are fake and gay.”
She went further, alleging that the two actresses are secretly “hooking up” and speculated that their closeness could be affecting Grande’s relationship with co-star Ethan Slater.
The clip’s renewed circulation coincides with the film’s release and the stars’ high-profile appearances together, including the recent Los Angeles premiere where Grande and Slater walked the carpet as a couple.
Reactions online remain sharply divided. Many users have turned Owens’ comments into memes and mocked her phrasing, while others have defended her skepticism toward the authenticity of celebrity friendships and Hollywood promotional strategies.
The resurfaced post has amassed millions of views in recent days, reigniting broader conversations about queer subtext in Wicked, the boundaries of celebrity commentary, and the marketing of on-screen chemistry.