In Wicked, we got to see Glinda and Elphaba’s friendship flourish, and in this next movie, we’ll see how they change each other “For Good.” However, right now, we’re amping up for another Wicked press tour, and stories from the first film’s press tour are circulating too. This includes a tale from an influencer about how someone spilled a drink on her, and while that is not thrillifying at all, the way Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo came to her rescue was.
Digital content creator Tricia Mpisi spoke on her TikTok about being one of the lucky African influencers to attend the European premiere of Wicked last year. But, she recalled a scary incident that occurred during a group photo when someone dressed in a Wicked Witch costume spilled their champagne on her:
It literally felt like I was in a movie. I look down, and I see something break, and then, before you know it, I feel something warm go into my eyes. And I also have mascara and makeup on. And so all of a sudden, the alcohol mixed with the mascara is burning my eyes!
No wonder she screamed when the drink spilled on her! You’d never anticipate an everyday group photo turning into burning alcohol getting in your eyes. I’d be terrified. However, luckily, the stars of Wicked were there to help her.
One memorable quality we’ll see in the upcoming book-to-screen adaptation is the two witches discovering what the true definition of being good is. Well, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande certainly proved their goodness in the next part of Tricia Mpisi’s crazy story, as she recalled:
As my eyes are closed and burning, I feel somebody hold me, and they’re like, ‘This is Cynthia Erivo. We’re gonna find you a chair now, okay? You’re gonna be okay.’ I’m not even joking! I was just like, ‘Yeah, okay!’
The influencer continued to talk about how after a chair was pulled for her, Erivo, Ariana Grande, and everyone else rushed to Mpisi’s rescue to wipe the champagne off her face. Despite “struggling to open my eyes,” the digital content creator said she felt comfort in hearing the voices of Erivo and Grande. In fact, the former Nickelodeon star even had a wild idea, as the TikToker recalled:
I’m struggling to open my eyes and I feel somebody wipe my eyes and wipe my hands. […] And part of me was like, ‘Oh no, I hate that, you know, my dress is ruined and now we’re going to go to the premiere.’ And Ariana Grande was like, ‘Oh, don’t worry. We can cancel the premiere.’ And then so, I started to laugh and I was like, ‘Really? You would cancel the premiere for me?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, I know a guy.’
That really was incredibly sweet for Ariana Grande to offer something like that. And the fact that the two Wicked stars never left her side until all of the champagne was wiped off makes it even better. That’s heroism at its finest.
Mpisi made sure to express to TikTokers how much that moment meant to her, explaining that in her home country of South Africa, people don’t usually take the time to help those in trouble. So, the fact that the two actresses turned what she described as an embarrassing moment into “a memorable human moment” is very touching.
While we know that Wicked: For Good will show different forms of heroism through Glinda and Elphaba, the good nature of the actresses portraying them rings true in real life. After wiping spilled champagne off the eyes of a TikTok influencer, she’s made sure to convey gratitude to the two actresses helping her feel “warm and fuzzy and cared for” by the end of the night. It’s a reminder that a special kind of magic can exist outside the realm of movies in the most unexpected ways.
If you’re as excited as Tricia Mpisi to watch Wicked: For Good in theaters, you’ll have your chance very soon as the 2025 movie release will hit theaters on November 21st. You can also relive the magic of the movie that started it all with a Peacock subscription.
