The Wicked fans took turns grimacing and bursting out laughing.

And now Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have shared their reactions to the bizarre “Holding Space” meme they took part in during the Wicked press conference.

The 31-year-old pop superstar and the 37-year-old stage and screen star spoke to Variety on Friday about the cringeworthy interview with journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist for Out Magazine.

While discussing Wicked: Part One’s closing number, Defying Gravity, Gilchrist claimed that fans were “taking over the lyrics” and “really leaving space with that.”

In the original clip, she placed a hand on her chest in shock and replied, “I didn’t know that was happening.” That’s really powerful. That’s what I wanted.’

But in their most recent meeting with Ariana and director Jon M. Chu, Cynthia and her co-star Ariana admitted they had “no idea” what Gilchrist was talking about when they received a response.

“I was surprised because I had no idea, because I wasn’t looking,” Cynthia admitted of the alleged social media posts that inspired Gilchrist.

“She said, ‘Well, I guess,'” Ariana added of the journalists’ response when asked about the alleged posts.

“I had no idea this thing was going on,” Cynthia reiterated in her Variety interview.

“So I didn’t know what any part of it meant,” Ariana said more bluntly, making Jon laugh. “I didn’t understand the first sentence. “And then I definitely didn’t understand what happened, how you reacted.”

She continued, “I thought, ‘Oh, what did she say and what did you hear?’ And I just wanted to be there (for Cynthia) because I knew something big was happening and I didn’t know how to get there.” should be.”

Then the new interview cut to a clip of Ariana bizarrely grabbing Cynthia’s index finger, apparently showing her support of the original meme.

“But after a while I didn’t know how to be there,” replied Cynthia, while her director couldn’t contain his laughter.

“She said something that meant one thing to her, then it meant something completely different to you, and then she tried to get somewhere else,” Ariana tried to explain. “And the craziest thing was that in that moment I asked myself, ‘Am I okay?’ Did I not hear something?

“Because (Cynthia) looks like she’s about to cry again and I’m about to grab (her finger) because I think (she) might need something and I don’t know what the tapping (of her finger is). ) should -“

“Tension,” Cynthia suggested.

Then Cynthia said she was thrown off by Gilchrist’s announcement that she was working in “queer media.”

“I honestly didn’t know what that meant. And am I also active in queer media? Perhaps?’ She added confused.

But Ariana sounded more positive, saying she was so “relieved” that other people had the same “experience” with the interview as her.

“Because I felt like, ‘Oh, I’m not broken,'” she added.

Then Cynthia changed things and mentioned how much she liked the version of the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus interview that the singers had set to music.

Ariana replied that she hadn’t seen it, but then made fun of Gilchrist by correcting herself.

“Yeah, well, I saw it,” she said, repeating Gilchrist’s claim that she “saw” the mysterious, hard-to-articulate social media posts that supposedly inspired her original line of questioning.

The “Wicked” director didn’t have much to add, as he admitted he was “in the other room” when Ariana and Cynthia did their original interview, although he joked that he felt like a meme was taking lives.