Cynthia Erivo addresses claim Ariana Grande friendship is fake

Cynthia Erivo has addressed claims online that her close friendship with her Wicked co-star Ariana Grande is allegedly fake.

Any Wicked fans will no doubt know all about the chaos and multiple headline-making moments that came during the November 2024 press tour for the first movie ahead of the second, Wicked: For Good, which hit cinemas last November.

Between the crying, finger-clutching, hand-holding and 'holding space' interviews, the Wicked press tours basically turned into one long meme factory.

Fans became so invested in their intensely emotional friendship that bizarre conspiracy theories started flying around on social media, including fake rumours that they were secretly together.

Erivo eventually shut it all down at the time, explaining that people seemed deeply confused by 'close' female friendships existing in public.

And the latest update in the saga has seen the Tony winner confirm that their bond is still going strong.

Speaking to Variety in a new interview published earlier this week on Wednesday (27 May), Erivo explained: "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. If I’m a friend, then I’m a friend. If I’m not, then I’m not."

Assuring fans that her and Grande's friendship hasn't dwindled just because their film franchise has come to an end, Erivo added that she and the 'Into You' singer still text each other nearly every day.

Cynthia Erivo has opened up about her friendship with Ariana Grande following speculation it was 'fake' (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures)

"It’s very interesting, watching what people’s perception is versus what the reality actually is," Erivo shared. "Lots of psychologists seated at home deciding who we were, what we were going through, what we were doing and why."

Now, while there were many viral moments between the two Hollywood A-listers during both Wicked press tours, one of the most viral moments occurred during a Singapore premiere for the sequel.

Erivo previously shut down claims that she and Grande were secretly in a romantic relationship (Taylor Hill / Contributor / Getty Images)

On the red carpet, a fan rushed over to approach a clearly alarmed Grande, prompting Erivo to step in and protect her while 'nobody moved'.

"I moved because my brain went, 'Get him away! Get him out of here!'" the Broadway star recalled while discussing the '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."

Defending her actions, Erivo outlined: "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."