Oprah Winfrey and Cynthia Erivo opened the 2025 Tony Awards with a playful tribute to a viral moment from the Wicked press tour. As Erivo made her way to the stage during a scripted pre-show segment, she was stopped by several people offering advice, which included Winfrey. Their interaction included the iconic “holding space” meme.
Cynthia Erivo teams up with Oprah Winfrey to recreate Wicked ‘holding space’ meme
At the 2025 Tony Awards, Oprah Winfrey and Cynthia Erivo brought back a viral internet meme that first captured attention during the Wicked press tour in late 2024.
The awards ceremony opened with a light-hearted sketch that followed Erivo, the evening’s host, as she made her way from her dressing room to the stage. Along the way, she was interrupted by several people sharing advice on how to handle her opening number. However, just before stepping on stage, she ran into Winfrey.
Erivo asked, “What do you do when everyone is telling you what you need to do?” To this, Winfrey simply replied, “Forget about them, babe! The only thing you need to do is just be yourself.”
As the two women smiled, Winfrey extended her index finger, which Erivo gently grasped. This was a direct throwback to the viral exchange she had with her Wicked co-star Ariana Grande in late 2024 (via PEOPLE).
That moment originally occurred during a November 2024 press stop for Wicked, when Erivo and Grande sat down with an interviewer from Out.com. Erivo appeared emotional while being questioned about the lyrics to “Defying Gravity.”
Seated beside her, Grande silently reached out and held Erivo’s finger, tapping her own long acrylic nail against it. The gesture, described as “holding space,” quickly spread online and became a meme. By recreating that gesture with Winfrey during the Tonys opener, Erivo gave a subtle nod to that moment.
Originally reported by Disheeta Maheshwari on ComingSoon.
