Cynthia Erivo Shuts Down Rumors Her Friendship With Ariana Grande Was “For Show”
By Alexus Mosley
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Rumors about celebrity friendships are nothing new, but Cynthia Erivo is making it clear she won’t let speculation rewrite her reality.
The Tony Award–winning actress recently addressed online chatter claiming that her close friendship with Ariana Grande was exaggerated or manufactured during the Wicked press tour. Speaking candidly in a Variety interview published May 27, Erivo pushed back on the idea that their bond was performative. “I think that people didn’t really believe that we were actually friends,” Erivo explained. “But that’s also because people don’t know me very well. If I’m a friend, then I’m a friend. If I’m not, then I’m not.”
The two stars grew visibly close while promoting Wicked in late 2024, often appearing affectionate and emotionally in sync during interviews and premieres. That closeness, however, was later scrutinized online, with some suggesting it was a strategic decision rather than a genuine connection. Erivo dismissed that narrative, emphasizing that their friendship did not end when the franchise did. Despite Wicked: For Good concluding the story in 2025, she revealed that she and Grande still text nearly every day. “It’s very interesting, watching what people’s perception is versus what the reality actually is,” Erivo said. “Lots of psychologists seated at home deciding who we were, what we were going through, what we were doing, and why.”
One moment in particular solidified the authenticity of their bond. At the Singapore premiere of the Jon M. Chu–directed sequel, a man reportedly rushed the red carpet toward Grande. Erivo immediately intervened when others froze. “I moved because my brain went, ‘Get him away! Get him out of here!’” she recalled, describing the incident as “terrifying.” According to Erivo, the man refused to let go of Grande, prompting her to physically step in and push him away.
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Though some online critics claimed she overreacted, Erivo stood firmly by her actions. “A stranger is a stranger,” she said. “Personal space is still personal space. It doesn’t belong to anyone, even if you feel you know the person.”
Grande has echoed that sense of trust and safety in past interviews, including a 2025 conversation with NPR, where she described their relationship as intentionally built. “It was important to us from the very beginning to build something real,” Grande said. “To know that we could have a safe space in each other for this journey, because it was going to be tremendous.”
Matching tattoos aside, Erivo and Grande’s continued connection appears less like a publicity strategy and more like what Erivo insists it is: real friendship, untouched by the cameras that first captured it.