Timothée Chalamet And Elle Fanning Recreate Viral ‘Holding Space’ Meme

In a new interview with Out reporter Tracy E. Gilchrist, stars of A Complete Unknown Timothée Chalamet (of Call Me By Your Name  fame) and Elle Fanning have gushed about the legacy of the “holding space” meme and even recreated it with Tracy herself!

Sitting down with the now-viral journalist, Chalamet and Fanning simply couldn’t resist bringing up Gilchrist’s hilarious and bizarre interview with Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, an interaction that was tinged with a layer of surrealism. 

In the weeks since it hit the internet, ‘holding space’ has practically become commonplace internet vernacular, and the young stars Chalamet and Fanning are clearly in the know on the meme’s viral hilarity.

Following some pre-filming banter, Gilchrist introduced herself in the interview and proclaimed that she was “holding space” for both Chalamet and Fanning, leading them to recreate that original interview’s most bizarre moment when Grande grabbed Erivo’s pinky. 

Later in the interview, Timothée practically blurted out mid-sentence: “It’s an honour to meet you, I’m feeling sort of starstruck.” Elle agreed: “I know, you walk in and you’re like Tracy, Tracy!”

The trio also bantered about the difference in setup between the interview for A Complete Unknown and Wicked. “There’s nothing we can do that can trump what happened, you know what I mean?” said Fanning, while Chalamet said “We have regular chairs. I feel like they were in, like, plush green chairs.” Though it turns out those green chairs weren’t very comfortable, according to Tracy…

After the interview, Tracy commented on how surreal the experience has been since that Wicked interview went wild: “Before I was even seated, Elle looked up, saw me, and said, “Tracy! Oh, Tracy’s famous. She then said, ‘My sister and I do the finger-hold all the time.’ And I’m thinking, ‘Your sister, Dakota [Fanning]?!’”

“Timothée said he couldn’t believe he was talking to me,” she continued. “And I’m sitting there thinking the same about them; these actors I’ve watched and admired for years. It was an unexpected, adorable, and hilarious moment. I feel very lucky.”

A Complete Unknown is in Aussie cinemas on January 23rd, and you can continue to hold space for Wicked in cinemas now.