Wicked fans forced to explain confusion over Ariana Grande’s character’s real name

It's clear fans across the globe are still not quite over the eagerly-anticipated film adaptation of one of Broadway's biggest ever musicals, Wicked, ever since it hit cinemas last week (22 November).

Boasting a star-studded cast including the likes of Cynthia Eviro, Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh and Ethan Slater, the box-office smash attracted Wicked's historic die-hard fans alongside newbies to the musical.

However, it's clear the former may be feeling somewhat protective over their fandom after being forced to explain a major confusion over Grande's character's real name in the film.

Namely, the confusion seems to be centred on whether the name of the protagonist is 'Glinda' or 'Galinda' as fans have seen the modes of address used interchangeably on social media.

One fan asked: "Is it Galinda, Glenda, or Glinda? I literally am so confused. I could’ve swore my doll said Glinda, but I could’ve swore it was Glenda but I could’ve been wrong. I don’t know lol."

A second penned: "I been trying to figure out if her name was Galinda or Glinda for years, I just saw Wicked for the first time and I understand it now."

"The most confusing part of Wicked is how she's actually named Galinda and not Glinda, and changes her name like halfway through the plot," a third chimed in.

Wicked fans were confused over the correct spelling of Ariana Grande's character's name (Universal)

Meanwhile a fourth pleaded: "I'm looking for some explanations about Glinda's name. Sometimes it's spelled Galinda and other times I see it spelled as Glinda.

"I also saw the cast chair for the upcoming movie and it says 'Glinda' not Galinda? I've never been graced with the opportunity to see the show and I'm very excited for the movie but just confused about the spelling?"

Well, the short answer between Grande's character going by two names at different points in the film is simply due to a professor in the story not being able to pronounce the 'a'.

Galinda changes her name to Glinda halfway through the film (Universal)

Glinda is first introduced to us as Galinda Upland.

While attending Shiz University, professor Doctor Dillamond (played by Peter Dinklage) struggles with pronouncing Galinda's name during his classes which frustrates her, hence why she keeps correcting him on the pronunciation.

However, her efforts are thwarted as Dillamond is simply unable to get it right, prompting Galinda to change her name to Glinda - claiming she's done so in solidarity with her professor and in protest against his dismissal as a professor at the university.