Cynthia Erivo explains origin of 'sex cardigan' in Wicked: For Good: 'This is what she lives in e...

&34;I wanted something that represented her in a space where she felt safe,&34; Erivo tells EW in an upcoming &34;Awardist&34; podcast episode. Cynthia Erivo explains origin of 'sex cardigan' in Wicked: For Good: 'This is what she lives in every single day' (exclusive) &34;I wanted something that represented her in a space where she felt safe,&34; Erivo tells EW in an upcoming &34;Awardist&34; podcast episode. By Mekishana Pierre :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/MekishanaPierreauthorphotoed08906b8105488ca1e991de8ac00dec.jpg) Mekishana Pierre Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at .

"I wanted something that represented her in a space where she felt safe," Erivo tells EW in an upcoming "Awardist" podcast episode.

Cynthia Erivo explains origin of 'sex cardigan' in Wicked: For Good: 'This is what she lives in every single day' (exclusive)

"I wanted something that represented her in a space where she felt safe," Erivo tells EW in an upcoming "Awardist" podcast episode.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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December 4, 2025 12:52 p.m. ET

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Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero in 'Wicked: For Good'. Credit:

Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Cynthia Erivo is well aware of what fans of *Wicked* are saying about the scene-stealing sweater she wears in *Wicked: For Good*, and she's setting the record straight on the true origins of Elphaba's notorious "sex cardigan."

"It's interesting what it's become.... I mean, intention is everything but you can never control it, people will take it for what it is," the Oscar-nominated actress tells **'s *Awardist* podcast host Gerrad Hall of the controversial cardigan during an upcoming episode. "But really what it was, was just a piece of clothing that I wanted her to feel comfortable in."

Comfort was key in the intimate scene in which the gray, oversized sweater makes its appearance. Elphaba dons the garment fashioned by Oscar-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell for the highly-anticipated romantic duet of "As Long as You're Mine" between her and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey). While fans of the stage musical know the segment to be a steamy performance as the two finally consummate their long-simmering relationship, the movie's rendition is restrained in light of the film's PG rating.

Cynthia Erivo wearing Elphaba's infamous 'sex cardigan' in 'Wicked: For Good'.

Cynthia Erivo/Instagram

Thus, a scene filled with longing glances and brushes of touches as each character sheds their clothing before coming together for a romantic joining as the screen fades to black. Since the film's release, fan have reacted to the inclusion of Elphaba's cozy outerwear with everything from outright obsession to exaggerated bewilderment.

As Erivo explains it, when the scene was originally crafted to begin with Elphaba in full armor, she came up with the idea to show a more "vulnerable" side of the Wicked Witch of the West.

"I remember thinking, 'When do we get to see Elphaba as like a soft, vulnerable human being who, in a space that is her own, gets to just feel comfortable and put the fighting down for a second?' And I wanted something that represented her in a space where she felt safe and comfortable and as her as possible," the actress explains.

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Erivo noted that the scene is particularly poignant because it's the first time viewers seen Elphaba "green, head to toe." She adds, "You never actually see more than her head, hands, arms, and chest maybe, until that scene where you see her full body in green. And I wanted to remind people that this is not makeup that she puts on. This is her skin. This is what she lives in every single day."

Since most of *For Good *is about Elphaba's fight against the propaganda campaign instigated by the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), Erivo explains that she wanted to highlight how much this moment of romance means to Elphaba the woman, who rarely gets to experience the kind of intimacy that Fiyero wants to give her.

"I also wanted to remind people that this is a woman who is deserving of desire and deserves to feel beautiful," Erivo said, before also emphasizing that "the intention for the cardigan is not to seduce."

She adds, "This is something that exists in her home with or without Fiyero there, but do we expect her to go to bed in the stuff that she fights in every single day? No. Do we expect her to exist in a home that is hers, that she feels safe in those clothes? No. That's not how she exists outside of everybody else's eyes. She, herself, is not ashamed of the skin that she's in.

Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey behind the scenes of 'Wicked: For Good'.

Cynthia Erivo/Instagram

The performer says she hoped to show viewers another side of Elphaba, in a situation where she's taken by surprise around every corner.

"Before we get to that point, we already know that Fiyero's made his mind up, and I think it even surprises her when he says, 'I wanna come with you, I have changed,' and takes her hand," Erivo shares. "He says that she's beautiful and, even then, she doesn't really even believe. That's, I think, a true reaction because nothing up until that point has said anything otherwise."

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Director Jon M. Chu was on the same wavelength as Erivo when it came to their approach to the intimate duet.

Chu previously told EW that he recognized the dissonance of choosing to have Elphaba sing the "aggressive" opening lyric, "Kiss me too fiercely," while actually distancing herself from Fiyero, "But I need somewhere to go. So what if that was her *wish* and her *dream*, but she wasn't sure he was there yet?"

He continued, "And what if we got to the point where then he looked at her and looked at even the propaganda that paints her as ugly and evil, and can't believe that she still loves and knows herself? He cannot do that. It's not about him being in love with her, it's about him respecting her at a level that he cannot be alive in the way she's alive."

"To me, that is earning the moment," Chu declared. "That makes it more intimate and sensual, not sexual. And I think that's when you fall for their love. That to me is more sexy than anything else."

Listen to Erivo's full interview on *The Awardist* podcast on Thursday, Dec. 18, and check out more episodes below.**

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Published: December 09, 2025 at 06:38PM on Source: ANDY MAG

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