I’m being petty here and I’m not sorry. Because remember when some of you were sick of the Wicked press tour and Wicked in general? Well. With all the chaos and the ugliness of this Oscar race, aren’t you f-cking glad we have Wicked now?!?

 

Today is the AFI Luncheon, where most of the Oscar-nominated films and cast members will be in attendance. There’s added interest now, of course, around the Emilia Pérez team because of Karla Sofía Gascón. Karla will not be there, but that still means it might be awkward for the other actors in the film who’ve had to eat the blowback from her scandal. This includes Zoe Saldaña who was, just two weeks ago, the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress, and even though she’s definitely still in it, she might be losing ground to Ariana Grande. 

 

And speaking of Team Wicked, they really seem to be having all the fun. Let’s start with Cynthia Erivo who was at Harvard yesterday to receive the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Award. This photo is an annual tradition and she looks so delighted to be part of it. 

Cynthia Erivo, recipient of the 75th Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman Of the Year award, rides a parade in her honor in Cambridge, MA

 

 

Meanwhile, Ariana Grande was over in LA and made an appearance at Jimmy Kimmel Live! The interview is cute, and you can watch it here. She makes fun of her mom – who is hilarious – and she talks about vocal training for Glinda and singing when she was a kid and takes streeter questions from kids. The best part though is when she plays Wing It & Sing It which involves her singing a song with music she’s never heard and lyrics she doesn’t know written on cards that Jimmy flips in real time. 

I know the music, itself, isn’t that complicated and someone at her level can easily find the tune, but it’s still a wonderful showcase of her talent. And her musical nerdiness. She’s gracious and self-deprecating and this plays very well with Oscar voters. 

 

 

But I’ve saved the best for last. Jonathan Bailey stepping into the role of Agony Uncle for British Vogue. He can be my ANY uncle, agony, ecstasy, and everything in between because my GODS this man is dripping in charisma and sex appeal, it’s too much! These eight minutes almost killed me.