The stars of Wicked are all popular amongst each other, with the castmates staying in contact via group chat two years after filming wrapped. But according to Bowen Yang, one of them isn’t included in the thread.
On the latest episode of Hot Ones Versus posted Tuesday (July 29), the Saturday Night Live star and his Las Culturistas cohost, Matt Rogers, took on the wings of death while answering tricky questions. When Yang was faced with either eating a spicy hot wing or revealing who he’d like to kick out of the Wicked group texts, he took a bite, saying, “I don’t think I can answer this, because we love the Wicked group chat.”
Yang did, however, share which costar isn’t even looped into the chat in the first place: Jeff Goldblum, aka the Wizard of Oz in Jon M. Chu’s musical duology. “Goldblum is not in the group chat,” the comedian said straightforwardly, without sharing why the Jurassic Park star isn’t included.
“It’s interesting who doesn’t need to be part of the group chat,” Rogers said, to which Yang replied, “What does that mean?”
Yang also shared which Wicked cohorts are the most active in the group chat, starting with director Chu, whom he said is “always our captain, always our leader, always texting us encouraging words.”
“Cynthia’s very engaged; Ari’s very engaged,” Yang added. “Ethan [Slater] and I will sort of connect on secondary pop cultural references. We know the same niche things in comedy.”
The episode comes about eight months after Wicked premiered in theaters, starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Slater and more stars. The film’s sequel, For Good, will premiere this November, tying a bow on an enterprise that has already earned two Oscars, a No. 2 soundtrack on the Billboard 200 and more than $755 million in worldwide grosses — more than any other film based on a Broadway musical.
Through filming and promoting the movie, Yang has gotten close with his castmates — particularly Grande, whose bond with Yang was on full display during her SNL appearances in 2024. In March, the pair teamed up for an especially memorable Moulin Rouge spoof.
When asked which SNL host he thinks should have never been booked, Yang again chose to eat a wing. He did, however, jokingly answer, “Ariana Grande, ugh.”
Watch Yang and Rogers on Hot Ones Versus below.