Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning are taking the lyrics from Bob Dylan’s songs and holding space with that.
In a recent interview, the stars of the Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, sat down with journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist, who went viral in November for telling Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo that people were “holding space” for the lyrics of “Defying Gravity,” one of Wicked‘s most beloved songs.
Gilchrist leaned into the meme, starting off by saying, “First off, I just want to let you know that I am holding space for you.”
The pair, who play Dylan and Sylvie Russo in A Complete Unknown, replied by saying they were “starstruck” to see her at the interview. They recreated the moment in Grande and Erivo’s interview, where Grande held onto a single finger of Erivo, which earned a laugh from the Advocate journalist.
Chalamet continued, “It’s an honor talking to you. I feel like sort of starstruck … [When you walked in] I was like ‘Holy shit,’ OK this better be good.”
“There’s nothing that we can do that can trump what happened. You know what I mean? We can try,” Fanning said.
In the original interview with Grande and Erivo, Gilchrist told Erivo that “people are taking the lyrics of ‘Defying Gravity’ and really holding space with that and feeling power in that.”
This prompted an emotional reaction from Erivo. “I didn’t know that was happening,” she said. “That’s really powerful. That’s what I wanted … I didn’t know that was happening.” Grande then reached over to hold Erivo’s index finger, for support.
Gilchrist responded, “I’ve seen it on a couple posts. I don’t know how widespread, but you know, I am in queer media.”
Many people were confused by what “holding space” meant. However, in a video on Out magazine’s Instagram, GLAAD’s Tony Morrison clarified its meaning. “‘Holding space’ is to physically, emotionally and mentally be present with something or someone. So, it’s granting yourself that presence that pause to sit with your emotion.”
A Complete Unknown and Wicked are both in theaters now.
