Actress Cynthia Erivo finally spoke out in an interview with Variety about controversial moments that were publicised during the “Wicked: For Good” press tour in 2025, highlighting that many reactions to the red carpet incident with co-star Ariana Grande were rooted in discrimination.
“Wicked” franchise co-stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande developed a close bond during their time working on the film production, eventually leading to online commenters labelling Erivo as Grande’s ‘bodyguard’.
The “Wicked: For Good” press tour kicked off in São Paulo at the beginning of November 2025, followed by Paris, London, Singapore and New York over 13 days.
The controversial incident
This press tour, however, involved some controversy as Grande was grounded due to an aircraft issue and missed the Brazilian launch.
Then, at the Singapore premiere, a man vaulted over the barrier between the film stars and audience and grabbed Grande unexpectedly.
“Nobody moved. Nobody moved,” Erivo recalled. She was the only person to react during the incident, shielding Grande away from the man.
“So I moved because my brain went, ‘Get him away! Get him out of here!’ My immediate reaction was ‘Get him away from us.’
“And what people couldn’t see is that he wouldn’t let go [of Grande]. He wouldn’t let go. So I just kept pushing at him to get him off.”
While some people saw Erivo as a hero who stepped in to ensure a friend’s safety, some dismissed the episode as an overreaction.
Online commenters shared jokes, memes and TikTok videos portraying Erivo in a masculinised manner as Grande’s ‘bodyguard’.
“A stranger is a stranger. Personal space is still personal space. It doesn’t belong to anyone, even if you feel you know the person,” she said.
“In that moment, we were all terrified.”
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Masculinising black women
“I think that we haven’t really come to terms with the insidious nature of how we view Black women. And I’m sure people will read this and think, ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, it’s not about that.’ But it is,” she continued.
“Because 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.
“And because of that, there was this assumption that I was bigger than my co-star and so I had to be controlling or protecting, and that was my role.
“I would hazard a guess that it would not have been the same had it been the other way around.”
Erivo expressed to Variety how the incident made her feel as though her “humanity had been bastardised”, ultimately discouraging her from future Oscar campaigns including subsequent appearances for the “Wicked: For Good” press tour.
The man responsible for the incident in Singapore was later identified as Johnson Wen and was sentenced to nine days in jail.
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Newsjustnews writers 
Mary Mae Balasanos 
Rosemarie Zamora