The Wizard of Oz is receiving a new wave of attention, and people revisiting the 1939 film are uncovering unsettling allegations about its production.
The renewed interest in the classic stems from the buzz surrounding Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, the film adaptation of a Broadway hit that retells The Wizard of Oz. Content creators have taken to social media to raise troubling aspects of the classic movie’s behind-the-scenes history—including its alleged use of toxic chemicals and treatment of its stars.
On November 24, Eveleen Pahau, who posts on TikTok under the handle @youareen0ugh, posted a video showing how she felt watching a scene in the classic film that involved falling “snow” reportedly made of asbestos.
“I knew The Wizard of Oz was trending, so while I was watching the movie, the idea to make the video came to mind,” Pahau told Newsweek. “There is a disagreement on whether asbestos was actually used, but a lot of the evidence points toward it containing at least some asbestos.”
According to Mesothelioma.com, “Hollywood notoriously used asbestos as fake snow for many movies.” It said chrysotile asbestos fibers—which have a white, layered appearance and fire-resistant quality—were used as fake snow in the 1939 film.
Pahau said her viral clip drew significant attention because of its blend of nostalgia and shock value. In text overlaid on the video, she wrote, “Watching this knowing that the ‘snow’ was asbestos.”
Sylvia Shipman, a creator in Brooklyn who posts under the handle @celestialsylvia, shared a similar TikTok on November 26, highlighting other aspects of the production’s history.
Shipman’s post, which has been viewed 3.4 million times, detailed the health and safety risks faced by the film’s cast. The creator noted that Buddy Ebsen, the original actor tasked with playing the Tin Man, almost died after aluminum powder from his makeup coated his lungs.
Ebsen’s replacement, Jack Haley, used a safer, paste-based form of makeup, but he still experienced eye infections during filming. The production wasn’t kinder to Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West and endured severe burns during a pyrotechnics mishap.
“Special effects were in their infancy, so many errors like these were sad parts of the learning process,” Shipman told Newsweek. “Safety regulations are written in blood.”
“It almost seems like these things have to happen before we learn the right way, and I believe there are materials used in household products today that will one day be known as harmful,” she continued.
In a separate video, Shipman said the mistreatment of Judy Garland, who played Dorothy Gale, was one of the darkest aspects of the film’s production. Garland, who was 16 during filming, faced significant pressure to maintain a youthful, childlike appearance, the TikToker said. Studio executives reportedly forced her to take diet pills and criticized her weight relentlessly, leading to long-term body image struggles.
“Even today, women are held to unfair standards,” Shipman said. “Judy Garland was expected to look like a child when they knew full well she was a physically developed teenager. It’s tragic because she was beautiful and talented.”
Despite the allegations around the production, Shipman said her admiration for the classic remained intact.
“I still love the movie, and I’m seeing Wicked on Broadway next week,” she said. “I think the actors were overall happy to be in it, but they may have said otherwise if it wasn’t a massive success.”
The viral videos from Shipman and Pahau have sparked online debates, drawing attention to the ethical compromises and health risks of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
“This was my mom’s favorite movie until she was diagnosed with mesothelioma,” one viewer commented on Pahau’s post. “She learn[ed] that was asbestos after she was diagnosed and would just sob.”
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos.
“I get very emotional thinking about how Toto was treated on the set,” a commenter wrote.
“Why is everything [about] this movie traumatizing,” another added.
“I was aware of the asbestos used in Wizard of Oz, as well as other movies of its time,” Shipman said. “But Toto’s paw was just sprained on set.”
Terry, the female canine who played Toto, injured her paw on set after someone accidentally stepped on it.
“Asbestos wasn’t always part of those scary ‘If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with mesothelioma’ commercials,” Shipman said. “Similar to radium, which I’ve also done a video on, humankind often doesn’t learn its lesson until people have lost their lives.”
While many viewers are revisiting the movie with newfound awareness, others argue that its legacy should be evaluated in the context of its time—and that it should serve as a reminder of how far Hollywood has come in protecting performers.
Shipman, however, believed critical analysis and appreciation could coexist.
She said, “There’s so much happiness from a beautiful body of work like this, but we can’t ignore the sacrifices that were made to achieve it.”
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