Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande were 'holding on by threads' on 'Wicked' tour
Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande were 'holding on by threads' on 'Wicked' tour
Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYThu, May 28, 2026 at 3:08 PM UTC
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Cynthia Erivo can only hold so much space.
In a new interview with Variety, the Oscar-nominated actress, 39, looked back on her busy past few years focused on making and promoting the "Wicked" films, but she stressed that she's ready to start talking about other things. In a May 27 video for Variety, in which the star played a game where she had to identify lines from her films, she at one point requested a question about something other than "Wicked."
"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."
In the Variety profile, Erivo shared that by the time she and Ariana Grande reached the end of their "Wicked" journey, "we were holding on by threads" and "really trying to take care of each other." She also noted that she and Grande still text almost every day.
Cynthia Erivo attends the "Wicked: For Good" New York premiere on Nov. 17, 2025, in New York City.
Cynthia Erivohad a 'witchy' way to get in character for 'Wicked: For Good'
Erivo starred as Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, in the two-part, blockbuster adaptation of the "Wicked" stage musical opposite Grande as Glinda, Elphaba's enemy-turned-best friend. It was a long, yellow brick road from the initial announcement of the movie to when the second part was released: Erivo and Grande were cast in the roles in November 2021, and the second "Wicked" film, "Wicked: For Good," hit theaters in November 2025.
The pair kept busy promoting both movies on lengthy, global press campaigns. Their tour for "Wicked: For Good" included a Singapore premiere, where a fan jumped the barricade and grabbed Grande.
Reflecting back on this incident, Erivo told Variety, "In that moment, we were all terrified." She also hit back at the jokes and memes the incident sparked, with some people making light of the idea that Erivo was Grande's "bodyguard."
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"I think that we haven't really come to terms with the insidious nature of how we view Black women," she told Variety, 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."
Cynthia Erivo shares the sweet way she supports Ariana Grande
Elsewhere in the Variety profile, Erivo reflected on "Wicked: For Good" being completely shut out of the Academy Awards. The first movie earned 10 Oscar nominations, including acting nods for Erivo and Grande, but the second surprisingly did not receive a single Oscar nomination. Erivo told Variety she felt there was "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."
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande attend the "Wicked: For Good" European premiere on Nov. 10, 2025, in London, England.
When Variety asked if the incident at the Singapore premiere made Erivo not want to campaign for an Oscar, she confirmed that "maybe in a way it did, actually."
"I just felt like my humanity had been bastardized," she said. "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."
Even though "Wicked: For Good" finished adapting the stage musical, there has been speculation that a third movie could happen. But when Variety asked about this, Erivo 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 performing on stage in London in "Dracula," a one-woman show where she plays 23 different characters.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cynthia Erivo weighs in on 'Wicked 3,' press tour, Ariana Grande
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
