Cynthia Erivo Speaks Out After Critics Question Why 'Two Women Could Actually Be Friends' in Media

Cynthia Erivo has criticised the scrutiny surrounding her friendship with Ariana Grande, questioning why some people appeared annoyed that two women could be close. In an interview with The Guardian conducted in west London and published on Tuesday, 27 October, the Wicked actress described the response as a 'double-edged sword.'

Her remarks followed months of discussion about the pair's appearances during publicity campaigns for Wicked in 2024 and Wicked: For Good in 2025. Their laughter, tears and affectionate gestures became popular online, attracting both light-hearted jokes and speculation about their relationship.

Erivo played Elphaba opposite Grande's Glinda in the two films. Their characters' friendship was central to the story, but interest in the actresses increasingly extended beyond what happened on screen.

The subject arose while Erivo was promoting Prima Facie, her forthcoming legal drama directed by Susanna White. Sony Pictures has scheduled its UK cinema release for 13 November 2026.

Questions the Criticism of Friendship

Speaking to Guardian journalist Lanre Bakare, Erivo said some online commentators had begun analysing the actresses' behaviour like amateur psychologists. She questioned why their closeness attracted suspicion, particularly when the two were simply expressing emotion in public.

Erivo said she sensed an unusual annoyance at the possibility that 'two women could actually be friends'. She described people questioning why they were connected and why they cried or laughed so readily during interviews. Those were her impressions of the commentary, rather than an independently established account of what every viewer thought.

A memorable moment from the promotional campaign involved the actresses holding each other's fingers while discussing the film. The brief gesture became part of a much larger collection of clips and GIFs circulating among fans.

Erivo did not dismiss that attention outright. She told The Guardian that she had seen many of the GIFs and enjoyed a good number of them. Her criticism centred on speculation that went beyond the jokes and cast doubt on whether the friendship was authentic.

She also argued that holding back their emotions would probably have invited another kind of complaint. Being affectionate drew criticism, but appearing detached might have done the same. That was the contradiction she wanted to highlight.

The actresses' promotional appearances often involved emotional conversations about their work together. Erivo's objection was not to people watching those exchanges, but to treating fragments of interviews as evidence about a private relationship.

Revisits Singapore Red Carpet Incident

The interview also returned to an unsettling episode at the Wicked: For Good premiere in Singapore on 13 November 2025. A man jumped a crowd-control barrier, approached Grande and put his arms around her as the cast walked along the carpet.

Video footage showed Erivo moving towards the man and separating him from Grande before security personnel intervened. ABC News reported at the time that fans praised Erivo for coming to her co-star's aid. The incident was therefore not greeted solely with criticism.

Erivo told The Guardian that she found the encounter frightening. She recalled feeling exposed and believed others were not responding quickly enough. Her immediate concern, she said, was getting the man away from them.

What troubled her afterwards was another strand of online commentary. Some descriptions cast her as Grande's 'bodyguard', a characterisation she rejected because she saw her response as an instinctive act of friendship rather than a protective role.

Erivo linked aspects of the reaction to what she considered misogyny and misogynoir, a term describing prejudice directed specifically at Black women. That was her interpretation of the response, rather than a finding about the motives of particular commentators.

She also recalled being asked by another journalist whether she regarded herself as a protector. The question bothered her because, as she explained, she would have helped any friend in that situation and hoped someone would respond similarly on her behalf.

Erivo's latest role places her in a different setting. In Prima Facie, adapted from Suzie Miller's play, she portrays Tessa, a barrister whose experience of sexual assault challenges her faith in the justice system. The film is scheduled to arrive in UK cinemas on 13 November.