For Good’ ‘Transcendent’ for Her Grief

Sheinelle Jones has been changed for good. And that’s due, in part, to the highly anticipated second installment of the Wicked movie musical adaptation Wicked: For Good. 

The Today show co-host sat down with stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in London to discuss the emotional conclusion to the story of Elphaba (Erivo), the wicked witch of the west, and Glinda (Grande), the good witch, when the conversation got personal. 

Jones — whose husband, Uche Ojeh, died in May at the age of 45 after being diagnosed with brain cancer — shared with the two leading ladies the impact the second film had on her own personal grief journey. 

“You guys both know that I am grieving, right?” she said during a special Today interview on Wednesday, Nov. 12 as Grande, 32, and Erivo, 38, nodded along. “And I carry two things everywhere I go. I move forward, but I’m also grieving.”

Jones, who brought her 13-year-old daughter, Clara, to London for the interview, got candid about the impact the film had on her psyche amid a difficult time. “When I went in the theater to see this movie, it was transcendent for me in a way that I didn’t know I needed,” she shared.

“To see these characters be strong and brave and vulnerable. And I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Okay, if these women can do this on the screen, so can I in my own way.’ I can be strong and courageous and brave and not just your characters, but who you are as women in real life,” the journalist continued. 

Grande was touched by the comment, saying, “Well, we thank you. We love you. And you are all of those things.” Erivo agreed, adding, “Thank you for that. We do, we love you very much.”

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The film’s stars then stood and gave Jones a hug mid-interview. 

Jones returned to the Today show in September after an extended break to spend the final months of her husband’s life with him and then to mourn his loss. The couple met in college and were married in 2007. They share three children, Kayin, 16, and twins Clara and Uche Jr., both 13.

The co-host previously opened up about the impact of seeing an early screening of the film on Oct. 22 during the 3rd Hour of Today. “Craig called me yesterday, what was I doing?” Jones asked her colleague, Craig Melvin. 

“I called her yesterday. She was weeping,” Melvin said. “I was like, ‘Are you okay? Do you need me to come?’ She was like, ‘No, I’m in a movie theater.’ I was like, ‘You’re watching a movie by yourself crying? With all you’ve been through?’ ”

Jones laughed, noting, “I was screening Wicked, and it was amazing.” 

During her interview with the cast, Grande noted, “It’s really a beautiful thing and the fans’ response is overwhelming.”

Wicked: For Good hits theaters on Nov. 21.