Cynthia Erivo hits back at critics who doubt her friendship with Ariana Grande

Actress Cynthia Erivo, 39, spoke in an interview with Variety magazine about her friendship with artist Ariana Grande, during the recording of the box office hit "Wicked". She commented on allegations made by the public at the time that the two were not "real friends". According to her, the extensive promotional campaign for the film released in November 2024 and the sequel "Wicked: For Good", in 2025, left her and her co-star "hanging by a thread".

"I think people didn't really believe we were friends," the Oscar nominee said of Grande, 32, as well as revealing that the two talk almost every day. "But that also happens because people don't know me very well. If I'm a friend, I'm a friend. If I'm not, I'm not," he declared.

She says that the two became closer in an attempt to "take care of each other", amid the intense publicity of Jon M. Chu's film adaptations of Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman's Broadway hit. The Universal Pictures films, starring the British actress as Elphaba (also known as the Wicked Witch of the West of Oz) and Grande as Glinda the Good Witch, required several official commitments from the actress duo, including press conferences and awards shows.

In her memoir, "Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They're Too Much", published in November 2025, Erivo confesses to having made a "pact" with Ariana Grande before filming began: "We committed to protecting and caring for each other throughout the process," he wrote.

"We often hear how female co-stars - or, really, any co-star - sometimes let their egos get in the way, ending up fighting amongst themselves and destroying the creative process for everyone involved. We were determined to do the opposite," she said.

Describing the success of "Wicked," she said the films "took over everything and - wonderfully - changed my life."

"Wicked": what is the film about?

Source: CNN