Cynthia Erivo says Ariana Grande red carpet incident exposed 'insidious' stereotypes about black women

Highlights

• Cynthia Erivo says reactions to the Ariana Grande red carpet incident were rooted in racial stereotypes
• Wicked star said she stepped in after a man grabbed Grande at a Singapore premiere
• Erivo said online reactions left her feeling her “humanity had been bastardised”
• Actor admitted backlash affected her willingness to campaign during awards season

Cynthia Erivo speaks out after Wicked premiere incident

Cynthia Erivo has said public reactions to an incident involving Ariana Grande at a Wicked: For Good premiere revealed what she described as “the insidious nature of how we view black women”.

Speaking to Variety, Erivo recalled the moment a man crossed a barrier during the Singapore premiere of the film and approached Grande on the red carpet. The actor said she reacted instinctively after realising security had not intervened.

Erivo said both she and Grande were “terrified” during the incident and claimed the man would not let go of her co-star.

“Nobody moved,” she said. “So I moved because my brain went, ‘Get him away! Get him out of here!’”

The man, identified as Johnson Wen, later received a nine-day jail sentence. Reports said he had a history of disrupting public events.

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“My humanity had been bastardised”

Following the incident, social media users described Erivo as Grande’s “bodyguard”, something the actor strongly rejected.

She argued the comments reflected assumptions tied to race, appearance and gender, saying people focused on her physique, shaved head and physical presence.

Erivo said she believed perceptions would have been different had the roles been reversed.

“I just felt like my humanity had been bastardised,” she said, adding that an instinctive reaction had been reframed because of “the way people see women who look like me”.

The actor said the backlash affected her emotionally and made her reluctant to participate fully in awards campaigning for Wicked: For Good.

“I didn’t want to put myself through it,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I deserved it.”

Success of Wicked and its sequel

The first Wicked film became a major box office success following its 2024 release, earning around £571 million worldwide and winning two Oscars. Its sequel, Wicked: For Good, performed less strongly commercially, taking about £404 million globally and receiving no Oscar nominations. Erivo’s comments have since reignited discussion around celebrity security, online reactions and the treatment of Black women in public spaces.