Cynthia Erivo has responded to the “cyberbullying” of her fellow Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, saying “it’s easy to be behind the computer typing words.”
Earlier this week, Grande responded to people making comments about her appearance, saying that “no one has the right to say shit”.
In a video interview shared on December 5, Grande was asked about how she copes with expected beauty standards for women like her while on the Wicked promotional tour with Erivo.
Grande pauses, before Erivo comforts her. “I’ve been kind of doing this in front of the public and kind of been a specimen in a petri dish since I was 16 or 17, so I have heard it all,” she told her interviewer.
“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. But that’s everything from – even just the simplest thing – your appearance, you know?”
She added: “It’s hard to protect yourself from that noise, and I think that it’s 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?’”
Grande explained that such comments can be “uncomfortable and horrible,” and she expressed her unhappiness with the “comfortability that people have” to comment on the appearance of others. “I think it’s dangerous for all parties involved.”
Now, speaking at the Red Sea Film Festival this week (December 6), Erivo criticised the cyberbullying that her co-star Grande has experienced of late.
“Cyberbullying is quite dangerous” she said, adding that it was “easy to be behind the computer typing words about a person you don’t know anything about” (via Variety).
She went on to say she plans to “be the counterpoint” to such narratives. She added: “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.”
Elsewhere, Enviro went on to open up about her friendship with Grande, saying when they were cast, they decided “we were going to make sure we protected each other. We were kind to each other, worked with honesty and built a relationship on that.”
“We provided each other with the space, the kindness and the generosity that was necessary to play these roles.”
“Our voices work very well together,” she continued. “When you get to do something like [a musical], there is a real understanding of how the other person works. To sing with another person is very intimate and it has opened our relationship much more. Both of us were listening and hearing what the other could give and it was very special.”
Last year, Grande also spoke out about fans’ “concerns” about her body, telling them that “I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what.”
With a combined $270million (£214.6milion) in worldwide ticket sales over last weekend, Wicked was the third-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2. It was also a record for a Broadway musical adaptation.
Wicked hit cinemas in the UK and US on November 22, and it’s predicted by cinema bosses to be the biggest film of the year.
Grande’s ‘Imperfect For You’, taken from her latest album ‘Eternal Sunshine’, was named one of NME‘s 50 best songs of 2024. NME described it as “an overwhelmingly beautiful ballad with a touch of psychedelic soul” and said “it was as close as you can get to a hidden gem on one of the year’s biggest pop albums. Love has equal potential to hurt and to heal, and Ariana Grande carries both possibilities with boundless grace.”
