Cynthia Erivo makes rare comment about stepping down from Oscar campaign

Cynthia Erivo is finally opening up about the moment Wicked press tour stopped feeling magical – and started feeling exhausting.

In a new interview, the Oscar-nominated actress revealed that the intense online reaction following a chaotic fan incident involving Ariana Grande played a major role in why she pulled back from awards season campaigning for Wicked: For Good.

“I think maybe in a way it did, actually,” Erivo admitted when asked whether the Singapore incident affected her decision.

The now-viral moment happened during a red carpet event at Universal Studios Singapore last year, when a man suddenly rushed toward Grande while Erivo, Grande, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum were greeting fans.

“Nobody moved. Nobody moved,” Erivo recalled. “So I moved because my brain went, ‘Get him away! Get him out of here!’”

According to Erivo, the situation was far more intense than clips online suggested.

“What people couldn't see is that he wouldn't let go [of Grande],” she explained. “So I just kept pushing at him to get him off.”

But instead of praise, Erivo says she became the target of cruel memes and tikToks focused on her appearance, physique and shaved head.

“I just felt like my humanity had been bastardized,” she said.

The actress also slammed the strange internet narrative surrounding her friendship with Grande, joking that “lots of psychologists seated at home” seemed convinced they understood their relationship better than they did.

Despite the noise, Erivo says the bond between the two stars is still very real.

“If I'm a friend, then I'm a friend,” she said. “If I'm not, then I'm not.”

Honestly, Glinda and Elphaba surviving both buzz and the internet? That may be the real plot twist.