Cynthia Erivo Responds to Rumor She and Ariana Grande Aren’t Friends
Cynthia Erivo isn't letting rumors about her friendship with Ariana Grande bring her down.
The Tony award winner—who was incredibly close with the "thank u, next" singer during their November 2024 press tour for Wicked—cleared the air amid speculation that hers and Grande's "really conscious decision" to build a relationship was only for show.
“I think that people didn’t really believe that we were actually friends,” Erivo, 39, explained in a Variety interview published May 27. “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.”
As such, Erivo's close bond with Grande hasn't stopped just because their movie franchise came to an end with 2025’s Wicked: For Good. In fact, the Broadway star shared that she and the 32-year-old still exchange text messages nearly every day.
“It’s very interesting, watching what people’s perception is versus what the reality actually is,” Erivo mused. “Lots of psychologists seated at home deciding who we were, what we were going through, what we were doing and why.”
And though many of the costars’ public appearances caught the world's attention, one particular moment stands out for Erivo as a testament to their real-life friendship. At the Singapore premiere for the Jon Chu-directed sequel, a man stormed the red carpet to approach Grande—and Erivo stepped in when “nobody moved.”
“I moved because my brain went, ‘Get him away! Get him out of here!’” Erivo recounted of what she described as a "terrifying" incident. “My immediate reaction was ‘Get him away from us.’ And what people couldn’t see is that he wouldn’t let go [of Grande]. He wouldn’t let go. So I just kept pushing at him to get him off.”
While some critics believed Erivo overreacted, she stands by her decision to protect Grande. As she put it, “A stranger is a stranger. Personal space is still personal space. It doesn’t belong to anyone, even if you feel you know the person."
For her part, Grande feels just as strong of a connection to Erivo, with whom she shares matching tattoos.
"It was important to us from the very beginning," Grande told NPR in 2025, "to build something real and to know that we could have a safe space in each other for this journey because it was going to be tremendous."
For more of the Ozian duo's most fashionable moments together, read on...
Presenting together at the 2024 Oscars in March, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were already teasing what was in store from the first installment of Wicked, coming to theaters Nov. 22.
Erivo, who plays green-hued "bad" witch Elphaba, looked ready for both the red carpet and battle in leather Louis Vuitton with reptilian ruffles down the back. And Grande, who costars as "good" witch Glinda, channeled old Hollywood glam in a powder-pink Giambattista Valli Haute Couture column gown magically accented with enough fabric to provide a peplum, a stole, a bustle and a train all at once.
The Wicked train chugged into CinemaCon in April with Grande all aboard in a white and pink Oscar de la Renta minidress that resembled a blooming flower, while Erivo sported a green and silver Versace ensemble, including fierce thigh-high satin boots.
Not the colors of dear old Shiz, but she has an open invitation to play Quidditch for Slytherin.
Gold for best dressed went to team Wicked at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the costars were spotted at multiple events.
But first, they kicked off the Games at the July 26 Opening Ceremony, Erivo in a strapless green Louis Vuitton gown with a gravity-defying silhouette and Grande in a drop-waist powder-pink Thom Browne dress that would've made Audrey Hepburn proud.
Erivo, who also performed "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" at the event, looked wickedly good in a glittering emerald gown by Naeem Khan at the 2024 Academy Museum of Motion Pictures 4th Annual Gala on Oct. 19.
Another popular choice: Grande's leather-trimmed polka dot ball gown courtesy of Balmain.
Erivo accessorized her T-shirt and cropped jeans with bright-green pumps and a patterned Louis Vuitton coat at an Oct. 2024 screening of Wicked at the DGA Theater in New York.
Grande looked ready for her first day of witch university in a cream-colored button-down vest and matching skirt by Atelier Versace.
It's unclear if Grande floated to the WSJ. Magazine 2024 Innovator Awards inside a magical bubble, but her delicately embroidered white Vivienne Westwood gown was fit for such a journey.
Meanwhile, Erivo's Erdem dress—gray pinstripes overlaid with embellished green silk—was Land of Oz meets Wall Street.
Grande went full Glinda at the Nov. 2024 Australian premiere of Wicked in a pink Vivienne Westwood ball gown.
Erivo leaned into Elphaba's wicked future at the premiere in a black Louis Vuitton strapless gown, accessorized with a massive lion's head choker and another bedazzled green manicure.
"I love this outfit so much because it speaks to my character," the British actress told Vogue Australia before heading to the red carpet (or, in this case, yellow brick road). "It reminds me of wings and defying gravity."
Erivo cast yet another spell at the Nov. 2024 Wicked photocall in Australia, this time in an emerald and black Marc Jacobs blouse paired with a black embroidered skirt.
And for her latest trick: Dividing the eye's attention between her dainty fascinator and the towering multistrap Mary Jane platforms that added at least 6 inches to her 5-foot-1 frame.
Grande was the gift in bow-trimmed Bode at the Australian photo call.
Louis Vuitton didn't hold back on the green for Erivo and Thom Browne provided Grande's dainty gingham look at the Los Angeles premiere of Wicked on Nov. 2024.
Leaning into Elphaba's eventual preferred color, Erivo wore Dior to a Nov. 2024 Wicked screening hosted by Vogue at New York's Museum of Modern Art, while Grande turned up the pink meter from pastel to hot in Louis Vuitton.
Across the pond for Wicked's London premiere on Nov. 2024, Grande was cheery as a buttercup in a dreamy Ralph Lauren gown and Erivo hit the sweet spot where punk meets princess courtesy of Schiaparelli.
Ariana and Cynthia channeled their inner witch in honor of NBC's WIcked: One Wonderful Night TV special in November 2025.
Whent the Broadway star arrived at the 2025 Oscars ceremony, she did so in a look that exuded the power only Elphaba can bring.
Whereas Cynthia's Oscars look was all bold lines and arresting shapes, Ariana's was perfetly Glinda-fied—channeling the softness and glam of the woman who came down in a bubble.
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