There has been a lot of shade cast on Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo regarding their recent interviews for the movie Wicked. Apart from legitimate criticisms of vapid celebrity culture and the toxic nature of the Hollywood film industry, the commentary I have seen has taken a truly meanspirited turn.

Grande and Erivo are being called “cringe” with some influencers complaining that their public affection makes them feel “uncomfortable.” Unsurprisingly, their physical appearance is also being picked apart.

The two actors have apparently bonded. And in interviews, they have shown a lot of platonic physical affection toward one another. But whether or not it is sincere is beside the point.

Western culture has always hated femininity and softness. It has always portrayed it as weak, silly or even crazy. Thanks to the toxic influence of British imperial culture in North America, which touted “stiff upper lip” nonsense, any display of emotion in public is grounds for being lampooned and ridiculed.

Even Western liberal feminism has been a victim of this loathing of emotional displays that are traditionally associated with femininity. The implication is that women need to emulate the very worst aspects of masculinity to succeed. The “Girl Boss” being the most prominent example.

And the impact can be seen beyond this in such places as the INCEL movement. Alienated young men, divorced from their emotions and atomized by the loneliness of a truly abysmal late capitalist hellscape, have been conditioned to hate anything feminine.

Grande and Erivo’s public affection isn’t abnormal. It is also not cringe to people with a healthy sense of what it means to be human. To be in possession of a body and a mind and a soul. All of which not only desire affection, but need it to survive and thrive in this world.

So, the next time you see an influencer disparage them for this, ask yourself why are they so bothered by it? Why is anyone bothered by it? In a world where empathy and kindness are in terrifyingly short supply, why would such public displays of caring garner so much animus?

Kenn Orfanos, November 2025