As of late, the Wicked cast has been traveling the globe and widening the yellow brick road for fans as one of the most anticipated films on the 2024 movie schedule finally hits theaters. Earlier this week, the stars ventured to the London premiere of the musical and were met with much fanfare. It was also there that Ethan Slater had a viral moment when he slipped and fell while leaving the green carpet. When Slater was asked about the moment, he provided a take on it that I thought was refreshing.
As it stands, the original TikTok video of Ethan Slater’s stumble has amassed over 3.3 million views and has really made the rounds across the Internet over the past week. Some people might shudder and hide from embarrassment in a situation like this. However, the Broadway star shared a more balanced (no pun intended) perspective after a SiriusXM commented on how the the video showed he had “really great reflexes.” In Slater’s words:
For that to be your takeaway is really a beautiful thing. Thank you for saying that. It was so funny, the first thing that I thought, we walked out onto the carpet and everyone was like, ‘Hey, so it’s been raining. It’s really slippery.’ And I was like, ‘You guys, I got this. It’s fine. I’m not gonna slip. It’s gonna, it’s gonna be fine.’ And then I wiped out really hard. It was good. I felt like Jason Derulo, you know.
In true London fashion, it ended up raining on the green carpet for Wicked last Monday and, while Ethan Slater was warned, he was not at all worried about tripping at the premiere. As the actor is seen in the viral video (below), he is wearing dress shoes that could easily aid the kind of fall he had. Yet he never fully hits the ground, thanks to his right hand catching his fall:
@scarlettkingy
♬ original sound – scarlett
Funny enough, Ethan Slater looked back right after his fall (perhaps to see if the moment was filmed) before giving a crowd of fans the thumbs up. Along with quipping that he felt like Jason Derulo out there when it happened, he also said this:
I do tell my nieces and nephews when we’re talking about what I do for a living I tend to describe it as I fall for a living. It’s kind of my thing. When I was in Spamalot, I did do an entire number where it was me falling and hurting myself so I kind of felt like it’s just part of the job. It was a highlight for me, actually… It’s pretty good right?
The actor is a good sport, and it shows! I love how he called the moment “a highlight” along with sharing the tidbit that he actually tells his younger family members that he falls for a living. Being an actor, or a creative or public persona in general, is going to come with a lot of mistakes in front of crowds of people, but the way he took it like a champ sounds like a solid product of a good attitude.
Ethan Slater has received a lot of attention for his relationship with Ariana Grande, but has taken that in stride, too. Recently, the actor shared that he has handled it by focusing “on the real people” in his life rather than internet comments. He and Grande shared a sweet moment at Wicked‘s Los Angeles premiere and have arguably succeeded in not making the promotion of the film about them. I’d say that falling for a living isn’t so bad when you get up the way he does!
With the movie now playing in theaters, check out CinemaBlend’s Wicked Part 1 interviews now (including unexpected comments from Slater about the song that’s stuck in his head).