The Internet is 'Holding Space' for 'Defying Gravity,' the Signature Song from 'Wicked'

The meme caught on even in some unexpected quarters.

Gilchrist opened up to the Times about the interview, providing a little context for the exchange.

"I had four minutes to ask two people questions," Gilchrist recalled of her meeting with Erivo and Grande. "You have to get in there and really have a moment. I like to try to get to something real."

Gilchrist came into the interview with the consoling power of "Defying Gravity" already in her thoughts.

"I had seen just that day, that Tony Morrison from GLAAD – who is a friend – had posted the lyrics of 'Defying Gravity'," the journalist shared.

"Mind you, this was 1.5 days after the election. We were all kind of reeling. What does this mean for marginalized people and specifically people in the queer community? I thought, 'Well, this has been a week.' And so asked her, you know, I said that I'd seen people holding space with the lyrics of 'Defying Gravity'."

Not even Gilchrist expected the moment's inexplicable power.

"I was really teeing up my question," she explained, "which was, 'What does it mean to you to play this character who is so resonant with queer people, especially when we need it?'

"I hadn't even asked the question yet," the journalist added. "Her response was so dear to me. I was a little flustered."

Asked if she had realized at the time that Grande had tenderly grasped Erivo's finger, Gilchrist said, "They first started grazing fingers while I was talking to Ariana. I don't know if it ended up in the edited video, but in the raw footage you can see me clock it. In my head I'm thinking, 'Please, God, I am just a human lesbian. This is too much!'"

Gilchrist went on to add that the moment was "sincere" on the parts of all involved. "I was sincere in my question. Cynthia was sincere in her response. And I think when Ariana grabbed her finger, she was just trying to sincerely let her know that she was there with her."

Erivo's response, and Grande's finger embrace, hit the public's consciousness after Grande, in joint interview with Erivo, suggested that there's room in the interplay of the film's two lead characters for a supposition of romantic interest at play.

"Every day in the Emerald City is a Pride parade, right?" Variety quoted Grande telling The Gay Times during the interview.

The relationship of Glinda and Elphaba, Grande said, "transcends sexuality," but she also allowed, "whether it's romantic or platonic – Glinda might be a little in the closet – but if there were a time, you never know. Give it a little more time."