Cynthia Erivo Defends ‘Wicked’ Costar Ariana Grande Against Cyberbullying: It’s ‘Quite Dangerous’
Cynthia Erivo will always support her Wicked costar Ariana Grande — no matter what.
During an appearance at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival, Erivo, 37, was asked about Grande’s recent comments about being bullied online.
“I think cyberbullying is quite dangerous, to be honest, because it’s easy to be behind the computer and type words about a person you don’t know anything about,” Erivo said, per Deadline. “I think that the more we can protect ourselves from that the better.”
She added, “The best way to support someone who is going through that is really to be a counterpoint to whatever is coming at that person. Be the person who tells the positive. What a person who has never met you [thinks] is never more important than what you think of yourself.”
Cynthia Erivo Shares Sweet Tribute to Ariana Grande as ‘Wicked’ Hits Theaters: ‘Kindest Human Being’
Grande, 31, has been vocal about how online criticism affected her career and personal life. Now, she has shaken off the haters to prioritize her own happiness and well-being.
“I’ve been doing this in front of the public and kind of been a specimen in a petri dish since I was 16 or 17,” Grande said on the Thursday, December 5, episode of the “Oui Oui Baguette” web series. “So, I have heard it all. I’ve heard every version of it of what’s wrong with me. And then you fix it, and then, it’s wrong for different reasons.”
She added, “It’s something that is uncomfortable no matter what scale you’re experiencing it on. Even if you go to Thanksgiving dinner and someone’s granny says, ‘Oh, my God, you look skinnier, what happened?’ or ‘You look heavier, what happened?’ That is something that is uncomfortable and horrible no matter where it’s happening. There’s a comfortability that people have commenting on that I think is really dangerous.”
Erivo and Grande star as witches Elphaba and Galinda/Glinda in the two-part film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked. The first movie is currently in theaters, with the second dropping in November 2025. Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, chronicling how the iconic Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the North met as roommates at Shiz University.
Elphaba has green skin, which to Erivo, represents “every person who feels othered” in society.
“Elphaba is a challenging character because you want to make sure people see her vulnerability and humanity,” Erivo added at the Red Sea Film Festival. “You can be distracted by the green. You have to come past that so people can see her as a person, the pain in her eyes and the hurt she feels in her heart. With Elphaba, I had this beautiful challenge of humanizing her and even the green she lives with.”
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