Cynthia Erivo recently alluded to the terrifying event that occurred during the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good when a man in the crowd jumped the barricade and rushed Ariana Grande on the yellow carpet.
The Tony winner and the pop singer were both at a special Screen Actors Guild screening in Los Angeles on Saturday (November 15) and Entertainment Weekly managed to record Cynthia‘s touching speech.
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She started by answering a question that allowed her to reflect on the entire Wicked experience and how grateful she is toward the people who helped her bring it all to life.
“What’s even more wonderful is the fact that there are other people who have seen themselves in this movie, in that character, and also now see themselves and feel safe. That, for me, is the pinnacle of what I could ever wish for from any piece of work I have ever done. And I am so glad that in order to do it, I had to look into the eyes of this person beside me,” she said. Ariana was sitting next to her.
Cynthia then went on to say they had “come through some s–t.”
“We have come through some stuff in our lives, in our daily workings,” she continued. “I mean, f–k, even this last week,” she added, likely referring to that scary moment in Singapore. “Let’s be honest, for f–k’s sakes, we’ve had to really deal with some stuff, and this movie has allowed us to really grow as people, as friends, as sisters, as artists, as actresses.”
The man who jumped the barricade, a self-professed “troll” named Johnson Wen, will spend some time in prison after being charged for being a public nuisance.
Most recently, the Elphaba actress declined to do interviews doing the Wicked 2 premiere in New York City due to losing her voice. Ariana also chose not to do them in solidarity, but both stars were still at the event and posed for photos.
