‘Evil’ enthusiasts in witch costumes have hit the theaters to watch the highly anticipated musical – with some fans really getting into character and painting their entire bodies green.
But a Californian ‘Elphaba’ was forced to wipe off the green makeup covering her face and arms before enjoying the movie at the AMC Burbank 16.
“PSA: Don’t show up to AMC wearing face paint, they won’t let you in,” Jamie Forst wrote in a TikTok post.
In the shocking video, Jamie wore a pink sweatshirt and tiara, a copy of Ariana Grande’s Glinda.
Her friend Kaylee Ruval wore a matching costume: all-black clothing with all-green skin, channeling Cynthia Erivo’s iconic character, Elphaba.
Kaylee used a rough brown paper towel to frantically scrub at her skin, trying to get the pigment off before the movie started.
Even though she still had a light green tint to her skin in some parts of her face after trying to get the paint off, she was still able to see the film.
In a follow-up TikTok on Kaylee’s account, she shared photos of her makeup ordeal, captioning it, “What the hell AMC. Wicked was sooo good.’
Kaylee Ruval, who excitedly dressed as Elphaba, was shocked when she was told to remove her green face paint
AMC movie theaters have a policy that prohibits guests from wearing face paint or anything that covers their face
“We love it when our guests dress up for the occasion, but no weapons, not even ‘prop’ weapons, are allowed to be brought in,” it said AMC Theatres’ costume policy
“Face paint, helmets, masks (other than standard face masks used explicitly for health and safety reasons) or anything that covers the face are also prohibited.”
In the comments section of Jamie’s original TikTok, people speculated why Kaylee was asked to wipe off her green color.
“As a movie theater worker, it’s because of the Dark Knight incident,” one commenter said. “We had to be extra careful, especially since the new joker movie and smile 2 came out.”
Hundreds of other comments pointed to the “Dark Knight” shooting, which took place at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado on July 20, 2012 and left twelve people dead.
James E. Holmes, then 24, committed a mass shooting at the Century 16 theater during a showing of the Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Chris Ramos, who was in the theater when the deadly massacre occurred, recounted CNN it was “straight out of a horror movie.”
Holmes had his face and body completely hidden behind protective gear, including a helmet, black gloves and a gas mask, when he committed the gruesome crime.
He also had his hair dyed red and told police he was “the Joker.”
Before firing bullets, hitting almost everyone in the room, Holmes set off two tear gas canisters
He used an AR-15 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and at least one .40 caliber handgun, police said at the time.
The youngest person to die was six-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan.
Kaylee rubbed her face with a paper towel from the movie theater and was able to get most of the green off
Out of excitement for the ‘Wicked’ movie, fans dressed in elaborate costumes went to theaters across the country
James E. Holmes appeared in court after raining bullets through a Colorado theater (pictured). Commenters on Jamie’s TikTok pointed to the ‘Black Knight’ shooting to explain why Kaylee had to remove her green face paint
In addition to those who lost their lives, 70 others were injured.
“He literally shot everyone, just like in hunting season,” Ramos said.
Holmes surrendered to police within minutes of arriving. Police searched his booby-trapped apartment and found homemade explosives.
Nearly three years after the horrific mass shooting, the perpetrator was found guilty of all 165 charges against him.
These include 24 counts of first-degree murder, 140 counts of attempted murder and one count of possession or control of an explosive or incendiary device.
He is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.