- Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are currently on the Wicked press tour
- Fans were delighted when a moment from one interview went viral last week
- But now the actors say they had ‘no idea’ what was happening during their chat with the journalist
With the Wicked press tour becoming more bizarre with each passing day, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have opened up about one particularly emotional interview.
In many of their chats with journalists, the pair have shed tears about their roles as enemies-turned-best friends Glinda and Elphaba in the adaptation of the 2003 Broadway show, and what the experience meant to them.
But one interview in particular has caused quite a stir online.
When journalist Tracy Gilchrist told Erivo that “people are taking the lyrics of Defying Gravity and really holding space with that, and feeling power in that”, Erivo, 37, appeared to be suddenly moved.
“I didn’t know that that was happening,” she said, while putting a hand to her chest. “That’s really powerful – that’s what I wanted.”
But in a more recent interview with Variety, Erivo has now admitted she actually had no idea what Gilchrist was talking about.
“I was surprised, because I had no idea. I hadn’t been looking that much,” Erivo reflected.
With Gilchrist also adding that she knew about the conversation because of her role as a writer in “queer media”, Erivo added, “I honestly didn’t know what that meant – am I also in queer media, maybe? Work! Let’s both be there.”
Grande also added her opinion.
“I didn’t know what any part of it meant,” the singer, 31, said. “I didn’t understand the first sentence, and then I definitely didn’t understand how you responded. And I just wanted to be there. Because I knew something big was happening, and I didn’t know how to be there.”
“After a while, I didn’t know how to be there,” Erivo added.
Grande chimes in
But if you thought the first interview couldn’t get any more bizarre, Erivo then sought support from her co-star Grande – and somehow, the Dangerous Woman singer ended up holding the Tony winner’s finger.
Of why she did that, Grande recalled, “I’m going to grab this, because she looks like you might need something. I don’t know what the tapping was about.”
However, Grande was still quick to praise Gilchrist, and added, “She’s also an amazing interviewer and a lovely person. That goes without saying.”
But she also revealed, “I feel really relieved that the world had the same experience with this moment that I did, because I felt like, ‘Oh, I’m not broken.’”
