Everyone's gossiping about 'Wicked' stars' bodies. Is this a slippery slope?

What sparked the body image debate around 'Wicked' stars?

How has the rise of GLP-1 drugs impacted body image trends?

What did Lizzo reveal about her weight loss journey?

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The highly anticipated “Wicked: For Good” hit theaters Nov. 21, and the internet is abuzz not just with takes on its musical numbers and unexpected plot moments, but with in-depth discussion of the bodies of its stars. Online commentators have focused on the appearances Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Michelle Yeoh, with fans making assumptions about their health based on their thin looks.

Grande, Erivo and Yeoh are far from the only celebrities who've received this kind of scrutiny, but as three of this year’s most visible stars, the discourse raises the question: when is it OK to comment on a public figure’s body?

Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar, regional medical director at the Eating Recovery Center, previously told USA TODAY that commenting on someone's weight reinforces the belief that someone's appearance is the most important thing about them.

More: TikTok has banned #SkinnyTok, but will it make a difference?

"These comments about how your body is acceptable or unacceptable, it reinforces again that you are not worth more than your body... and that you have to present yourself a certain way for the world to find you acceptable," she said. "It just reinforces that sort of superficial, body-focused idea that we know is so painful and harmful for every single one of us, because we are so much more than this vessel that carries us."

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Wassenaar added that comments about someone's body don't just impact that person. They impact "every single person that lives in a body."

Another problem with commenting on someone's looks is you don't know their situation, Chelsea Kronengold, former communications lead at the National Eating Disorders Association, previously told USA TODAY. The Mayo Clinic lists myriad potential causes for weight loss, including mental health challenges like disordered eating as well as physical illnesses.

Grande responded to the backlash in a Dec. 5, 2024 interview alongside Erivo, where she told French YouTuber Sally that "It’s hard to protect yourself from that noise” and said she's felt like a “specimen in a Petri dish” since entering the spotlight as a teenager. 

“I think it’s something that is uncomfortable no matter what scale you’re experiencing it on,” Grande says. “Even if you go to Thanksgiving dinner and someone's Granny says 'Oh my god you look skinnier, what happened?' or 'You look heavier, what happened?' That is something that is uncomfortable and horrible no matter where it's happening.”

The rise of thinness, GLP-1s and undetectable surgery 

The “Wicked” discourse comes amid a broader shift in how Americans are discussing thinness. Many Gen Z fans of “Wicked” watched the rise and fall of an era of body positivity. Starting in the mid-2010s, a wave of size-inclusivity became mainstream: brands like Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, Dove and Victoria’s Secret began showcasing more diverse bodies, while hashtags such as #EffYourBeautyStandards and #BodyPositivity encouraged people to post imperfections like cellulite and stretch marks on social media.

For some of these young people, watching thinness become so prominent again in Hollywood suggests this era is over. Conversations about fat acceptance have retreated with access to rapid, GLP-1-induced weight loss and the rise of the “undetectable era” of plastic surgery. Cultural indicators of thinness, like the surge in popularity of Pilates, and the Y2K low-rise jeans making a comeback, have followed.

Stars like Meghan Trainor, Oprah Winfrey and Chrissy Teigen have opened up about using weight-loss drugs. So have visible athletes like Serena Williams. And body-positive influencers like Remi Bader have shared with their audiences that they’ve undergone weight loss surgeries. 

“We're almost seeing a return to the outward profession of the desire to be skinny, whereas for a while it's been, ‘I want to be healthier, I want to engage in wellness,’” University of Vermont associate professor Lizzy Pope, whose research focuses on how diet culture appears in popular culture and on social media, previously told USA TODAY. “What I'm seeing is a return of that language being accepted.”

More: Pilates, low-rise jeans and Kardashian weight loss: Is 'skinny' making a comeback?

How parents can talk to kids about 'Wicked' in the context of body image

The search for “the perfect body” isn’t new. At its core, body trends suggest women need to look a certain way to feel accepted.

"When we treat our bodies as clothing you pick up and put down, it's ignoring the fact that bodies are different from clothes," UCLA sociology professor Abigail Saguy previously told USA TODAY. "You can't just discard and change your body, and you shouldn't want to be trying to do so," she says. "It's quite dangerous when we suggest to women and especially young girls that their bodies should somehow respond to trends or that there's a right way or wrong way to look."

As public figures, the "Wicked" stars' bodies will naturally face more attention. But making TikTok compilations and photo edits directly comparing their bodies before and after filming, and using the situation to chase views and likes online, is insensitive and harmful. 

Grande, Erivo and Yeoh may not see every post about them. But young, impressionable kids on social media will, and for those already struggling with disordered eating, seeing women described as “emaciated” or “skeletal” can have the opposite of the intended effect, inadvertently validating harmful behaviors. 

Parents are wondering how to talk about all of this with young viewers, and there isn’t a perfect answer. Fans and critics alike will never truly understand what these stars are experiencing, and should avoid making broad assumptions about Grande, Erivo and Yeoh’s health. But ignoring the questions altogether isn’t the answer, either. 

Pope, speaking about social media content on TikTok, warns that as long as skinniness is seen as an indicator of societal status and health, content glorifying thinness will replicate on other platforms. This extends to Hollywood, as well. She advises that parents of teenagers should proactively address diet talk and create a home environment that fosters strong value outside of appearance. 

Experts say it’s important to open up conversations about healthy body image early. With “Wicked,” part of that conversation might mean redirecting comments about actors’ bodies to talk about the film itself, while also reinforcing what everyday health looks like.

The goal isn’t to avoid these topics, but to help young people understand that their bodies aren’t trends, and that their worth isn’t defined by how others comment on them.

If you or someone you know is struggling with body image or eating concerns, the National Eating Disorders Association's toll-free and confidential helpline is available by phone or text at 1-800-931-2237 or by click-to-chat message at nationaleatingdisorders.org/helpline. For 24/7 crisis situations, text "NEDA" to 741-741.Charles Trepany, Jenna Ryu and Sara Moniuszko contributed reporting.