A social-media influencer is doubling down on her decision to pull her kids out of a Wicked: For Good screening.
Sara Burnett took to her Instagram Stories on Monday, November 24, sharing Us Weekly’s previous story about why she walked out of the Wicked sequel. She said “we will never always make the right choices but when in a situation where you can make a choice to stand for your beliefs.. do it.”
The day prior, Burnett posted her negative review of the film via Instagram, writing, “Now hear me out — we LOVE theatre & musicals. We love appreciating the talents and God given gifts that people have. Seeing the acting, the arts and all the creativity. But gosh, I am not sitting in a movie that is casting legit spells over me and my family and allowing my children (5yr old included) to watch scenes where men are sexually taking off women’s clothing and music that is talking about them laying in bed together.”
In a video accompanying the rant, Burnett, a self-described “virtual hope spreader” and “anchor in Christ,” sits in a car sipping a Stanley cup.
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In her caption, she recalled “feeling that the spells cast in this movie weren’t just some made up words.. they had purpose in them! The Bible tells us to stay far away from that and my children even looked at me with big eyes and felt uncomfortable in certain parts of the movie. The mom gut knew it was time to walk out.”
Wicked: For Good, which stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, has a PG (parental guidance) rating from the Motion Picture Association for “action/violence, some suggestive material and thematic material.”
The movie opened on Friday, November 21, and dominated the weekend box office, collecting $150 million at the domestic box office and $226 million worldwide. According to The Ankler, a newsletter covering the entertainment industry, the sequel’s opening-night audiences gave it an “A” CinemaScore rating. A 61-percent majority of moviegoers were between the ages of 18 and 34, and 70 percent were female — further evidence that blockbusters targeting women perform exceptionally well in theaters.
Burnett objected to a sexy sequence featuring a shirtless Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and Elphaba (Erivo), mostly clad in a chunky gray cardigan sweater. The lovestruck duo croon “As Long As You’re Mine” inside Elphaba’s hideaway.
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While Burnett’s post drew support from like-minded followers, others were grateful that they brought their children to watch director Jon M. Chu‘s much-anticipated follow-up to Wicked: Part 1.
“So happy I took my kids to see it! They’re too little to read into any of it and they see all that stuff as icky anyways,” one follower wrote. “My kids will grow up not hiding and having life normalized. So happy for them.”
Another reminded Burnett: “You had every opportunity to do your research on whether the content aligned with your values before allowing your kids to even see part 1. Ridiculous.”
