Cynthia Erivo makes rare Ariana Grande comments as rumors their friendship has deteriorated surface

Cynthia Erivo has commented on her relationship with Wicked co-star Ariana Grande after their friendship came under the spotlight.

The actor recently sat down with The Guardian to address the reason why fans have responded so strongly to their offscreen relationship, which has blossomed since they featured in Wicked and its sequel, Wicked: For Good.

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

Erivo noticed fans questioned her relationship with Grande and the authenticity of their emotion when it came to promoting the two Wicked movies.

The actor continued: "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?’"

Describing the response as a 'double-edged sword', Erivo added: "Because if we were dead behind the eyes and showing no emotion, there would have been something else to say about it."

Last October, Erivo and Grande made headlines when a fan rushed onto the golden carpet in Singapore to meet the latter, before the former swiftly stepped in and pushed the intruder away.

“No one else was moving. We were on a carpet,” Erivo recalled of the moment. “We were exposed. My immediate response was: ‘Get this man away from us now.’"

She continued: "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. But I must be a bodyguard."

Back in 2025, Erivo opened about the relationship she has with Grande in an interview with NBC News.

"This is a long-lasting friendship for us; we're kind of like sisters at this moment in time, you know? And I think we've both learnt from each other and given each other some really, really beautiful gifts," she said.

"We've really looked after each other through this."

As to how she reacted so swiftly to the fan in Singapore, the actor explained: "I wasn't really thinking, I just wanted to make sure my friend was safe, you know? I'm sure he didn't mean us harm; you just never know with those things, and I wanted to make sure that she was okay. That was my first instinct."