After years of nonstop “Wicked” promotion—culminating in a tense Singapore premiere incident involving Ariana Grande—Cynthia Erivo says she’s ready to talk about other work. In a new interview, she also takes aim at the jokes that framed her as a “bodyguard,”
A fan jumped the barricade at the Singapore premiere of “Wicked: For Good,” grabbed Ariana Grande, and set off chaos on the yellow carpet. In the new aftermath, Cynthia Erivo remembers the fear in the same breath as the fatigue that followed her “Wicked” run.
Erivo—39 and an Oscar-nominated actress—told Variety in a May 27 video interview that she tried to shift the conversation away from “Wicked” during press. “Do you mind if we do another question that isn’t about ‘Wicked’?” she asked. “Because I feel like I’ve spent the last two years talking about it. and I think that we have an opportunity to start talking about something else. Is that OK?. I love ‘Wicked,’ but I’ve just talked about it ad nauseam.”.
Her comments land after a stretch of global spotlight that came with nonstop promotion for a two-part blockbuster adaptation of the stage musical. Erivo played Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, alongside Grande as Glinda—Elphaba’s enemy-turned-best friend. The casting was announced in November 2021 for both actresses, and the second film, “Wicked: For Good,” reached theaters in November 2025.
By the time Erivo and Grande reached the end of their “Wicked” journey, she said they were “holding on by threads” and “really trying to take care of each other.” She added that she and Grande still text almost every day.
The Singapore moment, though, stayed with her. Reflecting on the fan who grabbed Grande and the fact that Erivo pushed him away, she said, “In that moment, we were all terrified.” She also rejected the jokes and memes that followed—especially those that portrayed her as Grande’s “bodyguard.”
Erivo told Variety she believes people still don’t fully reckon with how they view Black women. “I think that we haven’t really come to terms with the insidious nature of how we view Black women. ” she said. adding 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.”.
There’s a thread running through her recollections: the same intensity that drew her into “Wicked” also followed her out of it—into how people interpreted her actions, her presence, and even her worthiness to pursue recognition.
That sense of being misread also emerged when Erivo discussed the awards outcome for “Wicked: For Good.” She said the second installment being shut out of the Academy Awards felt like “a sort of upturned nose at the second installment. even though we all knew there was a second film coming and we were just doing our jobs.” The first movie earned 10 Oscar nominations. including acting nominations for Erivo and Grande. while the second film received no Oscar nominations.
When asked whether the Singapore incident made her not want to campaign for an Oscar. Erivo confirmed. “maybe in a way it did. actually.” She said. “I just felt like my humanity had been bastardized. I felt like something I did instinctively had been made to be something that it simply was not because of the way people see women who look like me. and because of the assumptions that are made. and I just didn’t want to be a part of that. really and truly. I didn’t want to put myself through it. I didn’t feel like I deserved it.”.
Speculation about a “Wicked 3” has lingered even after the stage musical was fully adapted. but Erivo says she’s not ready to treat that future as a present conversation. When Variety asked. she said it’s “too soon to even begin to have the conversation about it. ” adding. “It would take a lot to get me back to do it. It has to make sense.” She also said there have been no conversations about a “Wicked 3.”.
For now, Erivo is turning her focus to the stage in London with “Dracula,” a one-woman show in which she plays 23 different characters—work that, for the moment, lets her step out from behind Elphaba’s shadow and back into her own.
Cynthia Erivo Ariana Grande Wicked: For Good Wicked 3 Oscars Singapore premiere Dracula one-woman show Black women representation press tour
Wicked already, like okay we get it.
I mean she’s right, it’s all Wicked all day. But that Singapore thing sounds wild… like why would anyone run up there and grab her?!
Wait so Cynthia is the bodyguard now? I saw a clip where she was pushing someone away and I assumed that was her job or something. Also she says she text Ariana every day? That’s kinda sweet but also like… how did it turn into a bodyguard joke lol.
Honestly fans shouldn’t be treated like villains, but that barricade/grab incident sounds like straight chaos. I just don’t buy the whole “we’re holding on by threads” thing either, because if they have handlers and security, why is a single fan able to do all that? Not saying it’s her fault, I’m just like… press runs are always intense. Anyway, Cynthia should promote something else but people will always latch onto Wicked cause it’s literally everywhere.