Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning, who star in an upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, have put their own spin on one of 2024’s most buzzworthy memes. During media interviews for A Complete Unknown, the actors engaged with journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist, who stated: “I just wanna let you know I’m holding space for you,” to which Fanning responded: “Thank you, I’m star-struck.”
Chalamet expressed that he was equally amazed to be in Gilchrist’s company, before extending his finger for Fanning to grasp, mirroring the viral moment between Ariana Grande and her Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo in the original meme.
The “Holding Space” phenomenon emerged in November during Gilchrist’s interview with Grande and Erivo. Gilchrist mentioned that Wicked enthusiasts were listening to the movie’s track “Defying Gravity” and “holding space” with the lyrics.
“I didn’t know that that was happening… that’s really powerful, that’s what I wanted,” Erivo responded emotionally, while Grande held onto her finger in solidarity.
Gilchrist subsequently clarified that she’d only witnessed people “holding space” for the lyrics “on a couple posts,” noting: “I don’t know how widespread… but you know, I am in queer media.” The exchange quickly gained traction as social media users debated the meaning of “holding space” for song lyrics.
Subsequently, both Grande and Erivo admitted they were actually confused during the interview exchange.
Chalamet and Fanning’s latest project, the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, is adapted from the 2015 publication Dylan Goes Electric!, which chronicles the legendary musician’s early career and the controversy surrounding his transition to electric instruments at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
