Cynthia Erivo’s Nollywood-inspired Wicked parody, Nigerian Wicked, has gone viral after airing on Saturday Night Live UK, amassing more than 1.6 million views on YouTube, per nme.com.
Erivo, who hosted the show over the weekend, played Glinda in the sketch, titled Nollywood Presents: Nigerian Wicked. It draws on the Nigerian film industry of the early 2000s and stars Ayoade Bamgboye as Elphaba.
The pair meet at Shiz University before travelling to LagOz to see The Wizard, played by Hammed Animashaun. They arrive in the “Emerald, White and Emerald City”, a nod to the colours of the Nigerian flag. Glinda says she wants a Birkin from The Wizard, while Elphaba asks for a “skinny BBL that defies gravity”. The characters almost kiss on a couple of occasions, and Bamgboye attempts Erivo’s famous note from Defying Gravity.
Bamgboye wrote the sketch, which was directed by Will Farrell. “Finally achieved my dream of directing a Nigerian version of Wicked,” he said on Instagram. He later said he was “completely blown away” by the response, adding that he had written “the most unhinged thing I’ve ever imagined” and that Erivo “made such light work of it”.
Former SNL UK host Aimee Lou Wood shared the sketch on social media, saying she could write a book on her love for Bamgboye that would take a lifetime. Fans on X also praised it, with one calling it possibly the best SNL sketch ever and another describing it as “perfectly accurate”.
Elsewhere in the episode, Erivo played a queer version of Rapunzel with an overgrown toenail in place of long hair. She also appeared in a “modern music” parody alongside Annabel Marlow, which appeared to take inspiration from Charli XCX’s Brat.
The episode is the last of 2026. The show returns in early 2027.
Erivo plays Elphaba in the Wicked film franchise, so the sketch reverses her usual role. It also reflects the growing mainstream visibility of Nollywood references in British comedy.
•Featured image: Cynthia Erivo on ‘Saturday Night Live UK’/Sky