WICK(ED)?

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Trigger warning: this post discusses eating disorders. 

I’d like to preface this post by saying I am not body shaming either Ariana Grande or Cynthia Erivio, nor accusing them of having eating disorders. My goal is to bring light to recent concerns and discussions about method acting, competitive eating disorders, and the push for celebrities to be “perfect” causing them to sometimes be pushed to desperate levels of thinness. 

I’m never one to comment on others’ bodies and health issues should be private for everyone, but promoting a toxic and unhealthy body to young fans isn’t okay. 

Fans speculate something might be going on with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivio after journalists say they “look near death” at a recent premiere. Another journalist came out and said “Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivio look scarily thin – and it makes me uncomfortable.”

There’s been no suggestion, in the making of Wicked, the movie, that the two main stars needed to make a change in their appearance for portraying these two witches, yet, there’s been a dramatic change in both of them. 

One thing most fans seem to be most upset about with Ariana Grande specifically, she shut down these speculations about her body in a tik tok last year, saying there is many ways to look healthy. ““I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly,” Grande claimed in response to fans comparing her body now to previous years.

Grande is also known for impersonations, and has been known to impersonate, or change her persona, based on who’s she’s working with, or who she’s surrounding herself with. When Grande worked on her album 7 Rings, she practically transformed into Victoria Monét, who was helping her on the project. So, if grande wanted to morph herself into something else for this film, fans claim they wouldn’t be surprised.

Cynthia Erivio, on the other hand is a known fitness enthusiast, who seems to have lost most of her muscle in the past few months.

Some fans even speculate Grande and Erivo may be caught up in a competitive friendship eating disorder – constantly comparing their bodies to one another.

This movie has caused so much media buzz, I for one, think it will be the movie of the year, and have already purchased my ticket for opening night. Fans truly want what’s best for both of these stars and want to put an end to the celebration of celebrities for their thinness. I hope that both Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivio get the help they need and deserve.