Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo's friendship faces unexpected backlash

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s Wicked friendship had fans talking after noticing this one detail.

Speaking to The Guardian, the actress addressed the criticism she and Grande faced during the press tours for Wicked and Wicked: For Good, saying some fans appeared uncomfortable with how close the two stars had become.

“It was interesting that there were many people who had become psychologists from their couches,” Erivo said.

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“There was this weird sort of, what’s the word I’m looking for … annoyance … at the fact that two women could actually be friends.”

The pair played Elphaba and Glinda in the two-part musical adaptation, and their emotional interviews often attracted as much attention as the films themselves.

“Like, ‘Why are they friends? Why are they connected? There must be something wrong with them. Why are they showing emotion? How dare they cry? And how dare they laugh? And how dare they be emotive and alive?’ ” Erivo said.

She called the reaction a “double-edged sword,” noting that people would probably have criticised them for appearing emotionless, too.

Erivo also recalled the frightening moment in Singapore in November 2025 when she stepped in after a fan rushed toward Grande and put his arm around her.

“No one else was moving. We were on a carpet,” she said. “We were exposed. My immediate response was: ‘Get this man away from us now.’ ”

She pushed back against the idea that she was acting as Grande’s “bodyguard,” explaining that she was simply protecting a friend.

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“I was like: ‘Oh, you think because I look like this that you could talk to me this way about something that was a human thing that I would have done for any friend, and hopefully a friend would have done for me,’”

Their bond has continued beyond the films, with the pair even getting matching “For Good” tattoos on their palms in 2025.