Cynthia Erivo on WICKED Mania: 'We Were Holding on by Threads'
Erivo was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Elphaba.
With Wicked now behind her, Cynthia Erivo is reflecting on her time starring in and promoting the years-long phenomenon. In an in-depth profile for Variety, the Tony winner, who starred as Elphaba in both films, shed light on her experience, including the friendship between her and her co-star Ariana Grande and whether she would ever return to the franchise.
“We were holding on by threads and we were really trying to take care of each other," Erivo told Variety about her relationship with Grande during that time. All eyes were on the duo after their first year of heavy promotion and joint junket appearances, during which they exhibited a visibly close dynamic. This led to a lot of opinions and scrutiny from the public about their friendship.
"It’s very interesting, watching what people’s perception is versus what the reality actually is. Lots of psychologists seated at home deciding who we were, what we were going through, what we were doing and why," noted Erivo. “I think that people didn’t really believe that we were actually friends. But that’s also because people don’t know me very well."
During the height of the two-year promotional campaign, Erivo and Grande faced many hurdles, including a viral moment when a man jumped over barricades in Singapore to get to Grande during a premiere event. Erivo intervened to help her friend and co-star.
"Nobody moved... So I moved because my brain went, ‘Get him away! Get him out of here!" she remembered. "And what people couldn’t see is that he wouldn’t let go... so I just kept pushing at him to get him off.”
She went on to share that the media coverage of the incident labeled her as Grande's "bodyguard," which is part of a larger problem for Erivo. "I think that we haven’t really come to terms with the insidious nature of how we view Black women," she explained.
The trauma from this experience may also have been a factor in her decision not to campaign for an Oscar for Wicked: For Good. “I just felt like my humanity had been bastardized. 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..."
As for whether she would return to the world of Oz in a potential future film, Erivo shared that "It would take a lot to get me back to do it," adding "It has to make sense.” Read the full article at Variety, in which she speaks more about her experience promoting the blockbuster phenomenon and her friendship with co-star Jonathan Bailey.
Erivo is currently starring in a solo production of DRACULA, now playing in London's West End. In this new adaptation from director Kip Williams, Erivo plays all twenty-three characters in the Bram Stoker tale. The production is running at the Noël Coward Theatre, a Delfont Mackintosh Theatre, until Saturday 30 May 2026.
Erivo is a Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning actress, singer, and producer, as well as an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and SAG nominee. For her performance in Wicked, Erivo received numerous accolades, including at the Golden Globes and Academy Awards. She made her Broadway debut in 2015 as Celie in The Color Purple.
Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas
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