Wicked continues to hold space in both our minds and on TikTok. Hitting Cynthia Erivo’s final note in “Defying Gravity” or recreating Ariana Grande’s dance from the “What is This Feeling” sequence are just two trends inspired by the film. Recently, a new Wicked trend has emerged on TikTok, and it’s all to do with the incredibly desperate Boq.
Who is Boq?
Boq, played by Ethan Slater in the film, is a Munchkin obsessed with Glinda, played by Ariana Grande. Both are students at Shiz University, and most of Boq’s screen time revolves around his unrequited love for the good witch. He’s awkward — and let’s just say it, quite pathetic — but he tries his best.
In a featurette on Wicked’s official YouTube channel, Slater says his character, “is doing things that are sometimes embarassing, but it all comes from a place of loving and wanting to love.” It’s a sweet sentiment, but not one shared by many online.
The First Stone Thrown
Soon after the film’s release, TikToker Molly, aka @tswiftfan420, began posting videos expressing her hatred of Boq.
This is the first TikTok she posted, which now sits at over 4.5 million views:
In this first video, Molly is singing Nessa Rose’s part in “Dancing Through Life” where she tells Elphaba about Boq asking her out to a dance. In the film, he only asks Nessa to the dance because Glinda suggested it (come on Boq), but Nessa believes the two are meant to be.
Molly laughs after delivering the line, “me and Boq,” clearly goofing on him, then says that if she were Nessa and Boq was the best she could do, she’d be upset. It’s silly and lighthearted, but it soon spawned a whole movement.
Right after posting her initial video, Molly posted another one saying the line “Me and Boq, we’re perfect together,” with the caption, “me if I hated myself.” Many of the comments on the video jokingly mention her frequent Boq hate posts.
One commenter wrote, “girl you are taking me out with these.” Another wrote, “I’m cackling, please keep going I need more.” Most of the comments agree with Molly’s dislike, and thus BoqTok was born.
Me and Boq
Molly’s goofs on Boq were soon the catalyst for multiple new Wicked trends. The line, “me and Boq,” from “Dancing Through Life” suddenly became the new thing to laugh at. The harsh sound of Boq in the song inspired creators to try and sound as dramatic as possible.
One creator, @tuckerthorn, posted this TikTok:
Another creator, @tiffhiggens, posted this TikTok:
The trend’s simplicity and lightheartedness makes it an easy trend for anyone to hop onto. The song “Dancing Through Life” itself got a boost on the Billboard Hot 100, charting at number 90, so its a win for both fans and the musical.
Boq it out on the Remix
Another trend soon started on BoqTok, and this one might even make its way to the club. Using the same audio clip from “Dancing Through Life” as the meandboq trend, producers on TikTok began to replace words in pop songs with “Boq.”
The most popular songs to have a Boq spin on them were Ariana Grande songs. Grande and Slater were in a bit of controversy after it was revealed that they started a romantic relationship during filming. Fans began to wonder if the timeline of their relationship overlapped with Slater’s previous marriage, although it looks like there was no crossover.
The controversy and romance are most likely why people have chosen to use Grande’s music for this trend, but it could also be because it weirdly works.
One creator, @astorwalk, has posted multiple Boq remixes on TikTok, including this one:
Ariana Grande isn’t the only artist getting her songs Boq-tified. Charli XCX has also gotten a few remixes, because of course she would. Her album Brat is the perfect sound to add a little Boq to.
One creator, @gonnagospringbreakers, posted this remix on TikTok:
How could you not to bop your head to these Boq-ified remixes? Even DJs on TikTok started to create mashups between popular club songs and “Dancing Through Life,” adding even more to the BoqTok canon.
Wonder What He’s Listening To?
Yes, your first question after reading everything so far is probably what music is Boq listening to? Don’t worry, BoqTok has the answers for you.
Creators soon started to post videos with a picture of Boq and a caption with a specific scenario he might find himself in. Over the video plays a song one might expect an awkward Munchkin to listen to. I mean, Imagine Dragons and AJR is exactly what I’d picture.
One creator, @maria.ray.2, posted this TikTok:
Another creator, @mill.pilled posted this TikTok:
People even went as far as to make Spotify playlists for Boq. He might not be real, but he sure has a unique musical vibe.
From the Screen to Washington Square Park
After all her videos, Molly decided to bring BoqTok to life. A recent trend of “look-alike contests” where people who resemble a specific celebrity congregate to compete for the ultimate doppelganger title was the perfect opportunity for Molly.
She posted this TikTok announcing her own Boq look-alike contest:
The contest took place on December 7th at Washington Square Park in New York. Some had taken the announcement as a joke, but the joke was on them after many people showed up to both compete and witness the Boq-alikes.
In an article written for Theatrely, Molly said, “I wanted to start this Boq lookalike competition to really shed light on this character I hate. But really, there is love. I LOVE to hate Boq.”
It was with this love to hate that Molly crowned Raul Calderon winner of the Boq look-alike contest. The prize was a personal beratement from Molly herself, which would be an honor for anyone to receive.
Here’s Molly’s TikTok congratulating the winner:
Clearly the event was a success, and Raul even gained his own following on TikTok after his win.
Wicked Stays Winning
BoqTok has taken the app by storm and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Molly continues to make TikToks goofing on the fictional Munchkin and the support is still there. It’s clear that Wicked‘s meme-age isn’t drying up anytime soon, and the internet is more than happy to keep mining.
