Cynthia Erivo Tells of ‘Insidious’ Perception of Black Women After Backlash
- On Wednesday, Cynthia Erivo addressed her friendship with Wicked costar Ariana Grande in a Variety cover story, recounting how she protected Grande during the Singapore premiere when a man vaulted over the barrier and grabbed her.
- During their November 2025 global press tour spanning 13 days across São Paulo, Paris, London, Singapore and New York, the assault occurred at the Singapore stop; Grande, diagnosed with PTSD after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at her 2017 Manchester concert, was attacked by an Australian man later sentenced to nine days in prison.
- The viral moment sparked online memes portraying Erivo as Grande's bodyguard, but Erivo told Variety the mockery was racialized: 'That's what was being made fun of. It was my physique, it was my shape, it was the fact that I was bald; it was about what I looked like.'
- Erivo's experience discouraged her from pursuing full Academy Award recognition after Wicked: For Good premiered last fall; the sequel received zero Oscar nominations, compared to the first film's 10 nominations in 2024, as she felt 'my humanity had been bastardized.'
- Despite the challenges, Erivo and Grande maintain their close bond through intentional effort; Erivo notes they 'were holding on by threads' over four years while 'really trying to take care of each other,' with Grande now releasing music and Erivo starring in one-woman Dracula production on the West End.
29 Articles
29 Articles
Cynthia Erivo points out racial bias in reaction to Wicked Singapore red carpet incident
In November, while attending the premiere of Wicked: For Good in Singapore, internet troll Johnson Wen hopped the barricade and grabbed onto Ariana Grande as her co-star Cynthia Erivo fought to remove him. Wen was ultimately sentenced to nine days in jail, but the incident had a fairly long tail, with Erivo just now sharing how she felt the incident left her cold on continuing the Wicked promotional campaign. After Wen jumped the barricade, “No…
The Independent
The Independent (US)Cynthia Erivo says comments calling her Ariana Grande’s ‘bodyguard’ felt ‘insidious’
Erivo had stepped in between Grande and a TikTok prankster who had mobbed the star at the Singapore premiere of ‘Wicked: For Good’
Cynthia Erivo Felt Her Humanity Was ‘Bastardized’ After Defending Ariana Grande at ‘Wicked’ Premiere
Cynthia Erivo is speaking candidly about the public reaction to her defending Ariana Grande from an intruder at the Wicked: For Good Singapore premiere last year. Erivo, 39, leapt to Grande’s defense after Australian man Jonathan Wen attempted to rush the actress and singer on the red carpet in November 2025. Wen was subsequently jailed for nine days for being a public nuisance and banned from Singapore. “Nobody moved. Nobody moved. So I moved b…
Cynthia Erivo Speaks Out on Viral Ariana Grande Singapore 'Bodyguard' Moment: 'My Humanity Was Bastardised'
Cynthia Erivo has spoken about the intense scrutiny she faced during the global press tour for Wicked, saying online reactions to a viral moment involving Ariana Grande left her feeling that her 'humanity had been bastardised'. Speaking in a recent interview with Variety, the British actress reflected on the pressure surrounding the two-part Wicked film adaptation and the online commentary that followed several high-profile appearances alongside…
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