Issa Rae And SZA Lost Control After Keke Palmer Shared What This “Wicked” Song Truly Means To Her

7 Million People Have Watched Keke Palmer Share What “Defying Gravity” Means To Her, And It’s Truly UnhingedIf Keke Palmer were a graduate student, we’d call this a dissertation.

Unless you were a theater kid over the last 20 years, you’re probably surprised that Wicked still has the internet in a chokehold almost two months after it came out in theaters.

This week, Keke Palmer is to blame after more than 7 million people watched her share what the movie’s famous song “Defying Gravity” means to her while she was on a press tour for her new movie One of Them Days.
TikTok: @mtv / Via tiktok.com

Palmer sat down for an interview with MTV beside her costar SZA, and the movie’s producer Issa Rae.

“Uh-aaahh-uh-aaahhahhhahhh!!” Palmer mimicked Elphaba’s infamous “Defying Gravity” run before looking into the camera and saying, “That’s a slave hymn.”

*Physical representation of shocked and appalled*

“Come on! When she got up there and she told those people! Y’all, it is really good,” she exclaimed.

Her costar SZA simply could not recover. “A slave hymn is so…” *Deep sigh*

“Y’all know I ain’t lying,” Palmer continued.

Then, the video showed the moments before the hilarious exchange. “You have got to save space for the lyrics of ‘Defying Gravity’,” Palmer said. “From Wicked?” SZA asked. “From Wicked,” Palmer confirmed.

“That — it makes me feel like you can’t stop me! No one is gonna bring me down!” she professed.

In the comments, people validated Keke’s interpretation of the song. “It felt like I caught the spirit during defying gravity lol so yuppp definitely a hymm! Lol”

“SLAVE HYMN IS WILDDDDD but also the best description,” this person confirmed.

“HOLDING SPACE FOR THIS RN,” this person joked.

Other people couldn’t help but crack up at SZA and Issa Rae losing it. “sza & issa were so done w her,” this person noticed.

“this is my dream blunt rotation actually,” this person said.

And finally, this person just wants to know when Wicked actress Cynthia Erivo will see the clip. “Where is Cynthia with the reaction video?!!” they asked.

One of Them Days is out in theaters on Friday, Jan. 17.

What does “Defying Gravity” mean to you? Let us know in the comments!