Jeff Goldblum Says ‘Wicked’ Made Him Stop Eating Meat

Wicked is one of those stories that leaves a profound impact. The prequel to The Wizard of Oz—and now the basis for the films starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande—follows the complex backstories of Galinda and Elphaba as they transform into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. But it’s about much more than intriguing character arcs.

‘Wicked’ | Universal Pictures

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Wicked is a story about empathy, friendship, acceptance, equality, and standing up against injustice. According to Jeff Goldblum, who plays the Wizard of Oz in Wicked and its upcoming sequel Wicked: For Good, those themes, especially Elphaba’s stannce for animal rights, made him think deeply about his own food choices, and ultimately led him to stop eating meat.

“Working with [director] Jon Chu [is] amazing,” Goldblum said on the UK’s ITV morning show This Morning. “It’s changed me,” he added. “You know, after doing this movie, we talked about the animal cruelty, I stopped eating meat and poultry.”

The plant-based cast of ‘Wicked’

Goldblum is far from alone—many of his fellow cast members, including Erivo and Grande, follow a plant-based diet. 

Erivo recently spoke about going vegan 13 years ago on the podcast Dish. She told hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett that she simply feels better when she avoids animal products. “When I was vegan, my body was really happy,” she said. “When I wasn’t, it was very sluggish and couldn’t really function.”

‘Wicked’ | Universal Pictures

Grande is also a longtime vegan and devoted animal lover. “I love animals more than I love most people, not kidding,” she told The Mirror in 2014. “But I am a firm believer in eating a full plant-based, whole-food diet that can expand your life length and make you an all-around happier person.”

Marissa Bode, who plays Elphaba’s sister Nessarose, has also spoken in interviews about following a plant-based diet.

When art influences life

It’s not uncommon for a film’s storyline to influence an actor’s personal choices. In fact, Babe is the reason actor James Cromwell is now a passionate vegan and animal-rights activist. The film, of course, tells the story of a piglet named Babe who dreams of becoming a sheepdog.

‘Babe’ | Universal Pictures

Cromwell even adopted his own pig in 2023—also named Babe. “Having had the privilege of witnessing and experiencing pigs’ intelligence and inquisitive personalities while filming the movie Babe changed my life and my way of eating,” he said at the time.

Now, it seems Goldblum has joined the club. For the moment, he follows a pescatarian diet, but could this be a step toward going vegan? As he told This Morning: “We need the world to work for everybody on Earth and every creature, too.”