NBC's Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical

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About

NBC's Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical is a 2020 musical adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas starring Matthew Morrison for the NBC television network. Ahead of its broadcast, jokes and memes about Morrison's casting circulated on TikTok and Twitter criticizing his appearance in the role.

History

On November 10th, 2020, Deadline^[1] reported that Glee-star Matthew Morrison was cast as the Grinch in a special television performance of Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical!, filmed at the Troubador Theatre in London.^[2] In the casting announcement, Morrison said, "It is an honor to bring some holiday cheer into viewers’ homes this December. My wish is to bring some Who-ville magic to this holiday season and, while the pandemic presents some challenges in bringing a stage production to life, we are excited to present a unique version of this seasonal favorite in a new creative and imaginative way."

The following month, on December 3rd, NBC published the first trailer for the performance on YouTube. The post received more than 3,000 views in less than one week (shown below).

Reception

Reaction to Matthew Morrison's Casting

Following the release of photographs of Matthew Morrison in the Grinch makeup, people on social media criticized the performance, making jokes about the actor's appearance in the role. For example, on November 26th, 2020, Twitter^[3] user @briebxrries posted a Skull Cow Isn't Real, It Can't Hurt You variation. The post received more than 9,400 likes and 1,500 retweets in less than one month (shown below, left). Twitter^[4] user @mesirwhosir tweeted a I'm Going To Create An Environment That Is So Toxic variation that received more than 26,000 likes and 3,000 retweets in less than one month (shown below, right).

brie. 000 @briebxrries therapist: matthew morrison as the grinch in a live grinch musical on nbc can't hurt you matthew morrison as the grinch in a live grinch musical on nbc: 7:25 AM · Nov 26, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone

dui dretti 000 @mesirwhosir matthew morrison: I am going to ruin christmas 9:00 AM · Nov 26, 2020 · Twitter for iPhone

On TikTok, videos denouncing the casting began just after the casting announcement. On November 11th, TikToker @nicoleciravolo posted a video ranting about the casting. The post received more than 895,000 views, 235,000 reactions and 2,400 comments in less than one month.