'Hamilton' Fans Are Obsessed With Jonathan Groff's Spitting

In news you can file under "hilarious" (he was even trending on Twitter for a few hours), beloved actor-singer Jonathan Groff (opens in new tab) has made the news because...he spits a lot when he sings, as seen most recently in Hamilton on Disney+. To be fair, lots of singers spit when they sing. And in case we were wondering if this is news to Groff, it is not: He is a well-known stage spitter and (poor thing) has had to answer questions about it (opens in new tab) for a long time. "I don’t know what it is. I guess I have a lot of saliva in my mouth. I actually don’t think about it too much, unless I’m in a good scene with someone and I can see it hitting their face," he said in 2009. And then again in 2019 (opens in new tab): "I’ve always been a spitter...I start sweating. I just get wet when I perform onstage. It is just what happens."

He's even been in shows where the first couple of rows are in the "splash zone" (omg). "For the first couple weeks...I can’t help it, I’m just, like, spitting on everyone. And they’re either enjoying it, or they’re laughing, or they’re holding up their programs to block their face...I don’t care anymore, but it made me feel self-conscious at first." So this is apparently a well-known thing, but new fans were introduced to the phlegm for the first time over the past couple days, and they quickly became obsessed.

The memes and GIFs of Jonathan Groff spitting are incredible.

Honestly, all of this is in good fun—the recording of the stage production is making new fans of the epic show, and this just happens to be one aspect—but if you're squeamish, maybe skip this section. But if you have no idea what I'm talking about and you're desperately curious, I have the GIF evidence for you from the Hamilton Disney+ production of what is making fans so delighted/horrified.

I...just spent a lot of time looking at spit gifs.

Fans are obsessed with this fact.

So imagine that you are a first-time watcher of Hamilton, and you are (of course) taking in the epic badassery of the performance, and THEN you see Groff as King George spitting all over the place. We basically got to see a few of these reactions in real time:

Fans also immediately came to his defense:

Also, I appreciate the relevance!

Even creator Lin-Manual Miranda and music director/conductor Alex Lacamoire weighed in (opens in new tab):

Anyways, the point is—go watch Hamilton, right now, and not just for the spit. (But the spit is a funny highlight!)

SIGN UP FOR DISNEY+ (opens in new tab)

For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.

SUBSCRIBE HERE (opens in new tab)