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A debate surrounding movie theater etiquette erupted after movie-goers experienced some unprompted singalongs to the Wicked film after its debut on Friday, November 22. Now, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is sharing his surprising take on the discussion.
Johnson declared his controversial stance in an interview published on Sunday, November 24 where the 52-year-old actor told BBC that he actually sides with the singers.
“Sing! You’ve paid your hard earned money for a ticket, and you’ve gone into a musical, and you’re into it. Sing,” Johnson said to the outlet before adding, “Especially if you love music, that’s the fun part.”
Despite what the part-time professional wrestler may think, some have taken X (formerly known as Twitter) to share their take on theater etiquette.
One user wrote, “I can’t believe people need to be told not to sing along during the Wicked movie, and that they’re so pressed about it when they are. Them: ‘But it’s a musical!’ Me: ‘Yes, and you’re not in it.'” A second user disagreed and said, “if you see me at wicked singing my heart out mind your god d**n business or better yet, sing along as well,” while a third admitted, “went into wicked tonight ready to yell at anyone loser theater kid that tried to sing along when it just ended up being me having to restrain myself from doing the singing.”
In an article by the Indianapolis Star published on November 19, an AMC Theaters spokesperson made a comment about fans singing at screenings and said, “AMC has a long-standing policy that prohibits disruptive behavior. The ‘Wicked’ preshow spot [which includes ‘no singing’] incorporates the themes of the film as a fun, engaging reminder to moviegoers to not disrupt the experience for those around them as they enjoy the show.”
Although singing is not encouraged in theaters at the moment, a sing-along version of Wicked in which members of the audience are actually encouraged to sing out loud – and do exactly what The Rock was suggesting – is set to hit theaters on Christmas, according to a report by Variety.
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