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The View cohost Sunny Hostin is holding space for the way Wicked actress Ariana Grande made space for Cynthia Erivo on the 2025 Oscars stage.
After the stars — both of whom received Academy Award nominations for their performances in the big-screen musical — opened Sunday night’s Oscars with a Wizard of Oz franchise-themed medley, Hostin kicked off Monday’s episode of the talk show with praise for Grande’s treatment of her collaborator.
“I loved the opening as well because there was a moment, I think we have a clip when Ariana Grande allowed Cynthia the space to shine, and that support that you could see between the two of them is something this world needs a lot more of,” the 56-year-old said before the show played a clip of the duo singing Wicked‘s signature song “Defying Gravity,” which included a moment that Grande kissed Erivo on the hand before stepping off to the side of the stage while Erivo finished the song on her own.
“See that? That kiss, [like she’s saying] the stage is yours now, that type of support,” Hostin observed. “I loved seeing that.”
Grande and Erivo’s opener was one of the standout moments from the Oscars ceremony, which also included an on-stage appearance by View moderator and Academy Award-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg. The 69-year-old attended the ceremony in a jaw-dropping, shimmering dress, and wore it on stage as she reunited with her Color Purple costar Oprah Winfrey to introduce a Queen Latifah-fronted musical tribute to the late Color Purple producer-composer, Quincy Jones.
Kevin Winter/Getty
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Goldberg’s cohosts expressed shock that the actress made it back to New York City overnight in time to broadcast The View, hours after she was at the Oscars in Los Angeles.
“Yesterday, we all found out that Whoopi Goldberg has a snatched waist,” panelist Ana Navarro joked on The View. “Look at that bumblebee!”
The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on ABC.
