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'Holding Space' journalist Tracy E. Gilhcrist has responded to the White House's ICE TikTok that used 'Defying Gravity.'
The viral journalist criticized the White House's use of "Defying Gravity" and "holding space" to celebrate ICE deportations.
The White House is facing criticism after sharing a TikTok using the song "Defying Gravity" and the "Holding Space" meme in a post about ICE deportations. Now Tracy E. Gilchrist, the journalist who originated the meme, has spoken out.
Commenters on the social media site are bashing the White House for a recent video that seemingly celebrates Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, detention, and deportations. The video is captioned "holding space for this" in reference to Tracy E. Gilchrist's iconic interview with Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, and features audio of Erivo's famous belt at the end of the song "Defying Gravity."
"Ahhh that deportation feeling..." the video says, as it shows President Donald Trump, followed by footage of ICE agents handcuffing, chasing, and arresting people.
Now queer media's Tracy E. Gilchrist has responded.
"This White House can’t have 'Defying Gravity' or 'holding space,' especially not to promote the heinous acts ICE is perpetrating in this country," Gilchrist says.
"The Trump administration has a history of appropriating music embraced by queer culture even as they erase and demonize us. The Village People's 'YMCA,' ABBA's 'Dancing Queen,' and Laura Branigan’s 'Gloria' were staples at Donald Trump’s rallies," she adds. "Those songs will always be a part of queer culture, and so will 'Defying Gravity.'"
"The same people who derided the term that Heather Plett defined in her 2020 book, The Art of Holding Space, and who mocked me for using it, don’t get to claim it in a sick and twisted video," Gilchrist continues. "I said from the beginning when the right began to mock me, 'It's not for them.'"
She also reminds people that the original interview that went viral was filmed less than 48 hours after the 2024 presidential election, and that the impending administration and Project 2025 were on her mind.
"For all its movie-musical glamour and big box office, Wicked is a story for our time. At the moment Elphaba (who has been othered since birth) comes into her full power, the fraudulent and fascist Wizard scapegoats her," Gilchrist says. "More than 20 years since Idina Menzel first performed 'Defying Gravity' on Broadway, it remains a beloved empowerment anthem, especially for queer people and others who don’t fit into neat boxes. The song’s meaning deepens with the times and with the person singing it. It matters that Erivo, a queer Black woman, made the song her own in the big-screen Wicked.
"The film is one of a handful of movies or TV shows audacious enough to hold a mirror up to this presidency. The same kinds of people who are called out in Wicked are trying to appropriate it and ruin it for us. We won’t let them have it."
@whitehouse holding space for this ✨
The Trump White House has been using the official White House TikTok account to post similar videos celebrating the president. Earlier in November, the White House shared a video using Nicki Minaj's song "Va Va Voom" that praised Trump's "achievements" during his second term.
This list includes "A President who prioritizes Americans, No men in women's sports, Border is closed, Our cities are safer than ever, Criminal illegals are being deported, Gas prices are low, World peace."
Minaj, who had praised Trump for speaking out about Christians in Nigeria, shared the White House's post.
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