The Wicked movie made witches out of all of us, but has the original fandom gone too far?

`Wicked stole everyone’s hearts last month when the film made its cinema debut. The movie was a real passion project, made not just for the average mainstream viewer, but also for the die-hard Wicked fandom who has loved the musical since its first performance in 2003. However, since the film came out, the original Wicked fandom has been caught throwing some serious shade on Wicked newbies who know nothing about the original musical or the plot, and are just finding things out now. Some of the fans are really excited that Wicked is finally hitting the mainstream media, but there’s been many notable occasions of them getting very frustrated with people for not knowing the plot, or thinking they’ve discovered a link that a devoted musical fan discovered 20 years ago. Here’s a deep dive into the pits of the internet where Wicked is being torn apart in a lethal fight between the newcomer and the longstanding fan.

@addisongorsuch

guys. #wickedthemusical #wickedmovie #wicked #glindathegoodwitch #elphaba #foryou #wickedmusical #arianagrande

♬ original sound – yoonsiim

One new Wicked fan posted a TikTok in which she figured out a connection between Elphaba and the Wizard in the film. She said “I just realised Elphie’s mum had an affair with THE WIZARD who gave her the green [elixir]. He was planning it all out just to use Elphie for her magic YEARS IN ADVANCE.”

If you’re a die-hard Wicked fan, you probably came to this conclusion years ago and totally freaked out when it clicked. And when I say years ago, I’m talking pre-TikTok days, so you couldn’t film your reaction for the whole world to see. In 2024, times are different, and a lot of people in the comments piped up about this new fan’s realisation.

“Just saw Phantom of the Opera and realized there is indeed a phantom haunting the opera…” one user mocked.

Most Read

Current record holder for sleeping with most men in a day issues stark warning to Lily Phillips

Lily Phillips shares four gross mistakes she made while sleeping with 100 men in one day

Man describes his two minutes with Bonnie Blue as ‘very fun’ but nothing like he expected

“Just saw Rent. Turns out they’re NOT GOING TO PAY IT!?!” Somebody else quipped, which did make me laugh.

“‘Guys.’ Yes it’s almost like it’s a major plot point!” Another said.

In another TikTok, a user posted a comparison picture of the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz and Fiyero and noticed how similar their jackets were. They’re going to have a heart attack when they find out what happens in Act Two.

via TikTok

via TikTok

Observations like this can make you feel so clever once you find them, however in this particular case there was an army of Wicked musical fans ready to berate the user for the “obvious” comparison.

“Veteran wicked fans, we can’t interfere. This is their cannon event,” somebody wrote.

Maybe we’re not all truly wicked

It would be unfair to plaster this label on all of the commenters when a lot of fans are actually really happy people are discovering and falling in love with Wicked for the first time. In the same video, a user wrote “seeing non-theatre kids discover the insanity and beauty of Wicked is so so so so amazing.”

People overall have been very welcoming to the Wicked fandom, especially considering a lot of them described being social outcasts for having such niche interests in the past. And what’s the lesson of Wicked? Don’t be so judgy!!

For more like this and for the latest memes, quizzes, updates and pop culture news – like The Tab on Facebook.