Cynthia Erivo turned the tables on Wicked during her hosting stint on SNL U.K. — swapping her usual role as Elphaba to play Glinda in a gloriously lo-fi spoof called “Nigerian Wicked,” where Glinda wants, in the sketch’s words, “a BBL that defies gravity.”
Cynthia Erivo as Glinda (Credits: Variety)
The sketch, from the Erivo-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live U.K. with musical guest Blossoms, reimagined the Oscar-nominated musical as a melodramatic Nollywood production. Erivo appeared in a blonde wig and pink velour tracksuit as Glinda, alongside Ayoade Bamgboye as Elphaba — a neat inversion for an actress the world knows as the green-skinned witch herself.
In the real Wicked, Erivo’s Elphaba and Ariana Grande’s Glinda express their mutual frustration in the song “What Is This Feeling.” In SNL U.K.’s version, subtlety goes out of the window: Glinda simply slaps Elphaba across the face.
Inside “Nigerian Wicked”: the Wizard of LagOz
The sketch follows the two enemies-turned-friends as they go off to meet the Wizard of LagOz — Lagos standing in for Oz in a joke that sets the tone for the whole parody. Where the film version is all sweeping spectacle and polished musical numbers, the SNL U.K. take is deliberately rough around the edges: lo-fi sets, heightened melodrama, and punchlines that lean into Nollywood’s famously expressive style.
That contrast is the joke, and Erivo commits to it fully. Trading Elphaba’s brooding intensity for Glinda’s bubbly vanity — complete with the “defies gravity” gag repurposed as a cosmetic wish — she shows off the comic timing that made her hosting turn one of the show’s buzziest of the season.
Why Cynthia Erivo’s SNL U.K. hosting turn worked
The sketch was one of several highlights from an episode that closed out SNL U.K.’s 2026 run before it returns with six new episodes in 2027. Erivo also fronted the night’s cold open and monologue, while the show’s Weekend Update took aim at the week’s biggest headlines — a finale-night line-up clearly designed to keep the series in conversation until it returns.
For Wicked fans, “Nigerian Wicked” was also a rare treat: the chance to see Erivo play the other side of Oz’s most famous friendship, slapping her way through a song she usually sings with feeling. Glinda, it turns out, suits her just fine — especially when gravity, and good taste, are optional.
Source: Variety — read the full story there.
