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Meet some of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
“Because of how many differences each of us holds within ourselves as people and how many differences our characters hold, [Wicked] intrinsically wants to be a queer canon,” Out100 Icon of the Year Cynthia Erivo, says of the very queer Wicked cast.
The Land of Oz has always been LGBTQ-friendly, but Jon M. Chu’s big-screen version of the beloved Stephen Schwartz musical from the Gregory Maguire novel is primed to be the queerest iteration yet with the breadth of queer performers embodying the students of Shiz University. Newcomer Marissa Bode plays the pivotal role of Elphaba’s sister Nessarose, while Bowen Yang’s Pfannee and Bronwyn James’s ShenShen form part of Glinda’s group of soigné witches.
“Maybe my biggest hope with Wicked is that it shows a studio and an audience that you can fill out a world — real or imagined — with every kind of queer character and have it feel like a universal viewing experience,” Yang says.
With Erivo in one of the leading roles in all of her authenticity, and Fellow Travelers’ Jonathan Bailey as the charming Fiyero, the cast is stacked with queer performers. Bode, James, and Yang at the intersections of their identities, add depth to the film that already promises to draw in a big box office.
“The diversity shown in the story of Wicked is really mirrored in the diversity of its cast,” says James, who recently celebrated her first anniversary with her wife. “Wicked is about living your life true to yourself, and having LGBTQ+ visibility within the cast really hammers that home.”
A disability advocate for years, Bode, who has had a disability since she was 11 and whose Nessarose uses a wheelchair, shares that it took until recently to embrace her queer identity.
“On top of being one of a very, very few people of color at my school [in a small Midwestern town] and having a physical disability, admitting queerness was just one more thing to make me feel ‘othered,’ so I hid it,” Bode says.
Witnessing some of her peers come out after high school encouraged Bode to do so as well. Calling out the barrage of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and legislation, she believes Wicked may uplift those who need its message.
“One of the main themes in Wicked that I hold very close to my own heart is speaking up for what you know is right,” she says. “I hope others will watch the film and feel empowered to live by the idea that you can actually change the world if you are brave enough to stand up for what you believe in and what you know to be fair and just.” @marissa_edob @bronwynjamesofficial @fayedunaway @jbayleaf
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com
Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com
Meet some of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Before her starring role in this year’s Love Lies Bleeding, Katy O’Brian, 35, acted in many beloved superhero and sci-fi productions, including The Mandalorian, Westworld, and Ant-Man and the Wasp. Clearly, she had the superpowers needed to carry (on her very strong shoulders!) the hit romantic thriller alongside Kristen Stewart.
O’Brian auditioned six times for the new queer classic. Yet it seems as though the role of the driven strongwoman Jackie was written specifically for her. But the real-life bodybuilder needed more than physical strength to get through the challenges of 2024.
“I lost a dear family member unexpectedly, totaled my car, and I had to have surgery…it seemed like one disaster after another,” O’Brian shares. What helped her cope? She and wife Kylie Chi set aside time for mindfulness exercises to “refresh a positive mindset.” The queer star is seeing fruitful dividends ahead: She has upcoming roles in Mission Impossible 8 and the zombie movie Queens of the Dead, with more projects to be announced soon. @thekatyo
