SZA Defends Cynthia Erivo For Her Ariana Grande Friendship

SZA is coming to the defense of her fellow singer, Wicked: For Good star Cynthia Erivo. The British-Nigerian singer and actress has been the subject of vitriol from fans who think her press runs with co-star Ariana Grande have been cringeworthy.

Grande and Erivo have made appearances together throughout the Wicked promotional tour, which began last year with the release of the first film. Their joint press interviews and red carpet appearances have drawn scrutiny and speculation, with questions about their thinner appearance compared to previous projects.

The incident in Singapore happened when “fan” Johnson Wen, the online provocateur known as Pyjama Man, approached the cast as they passed by on the red carpet, making contact with Grande. Erivo jumped in front of Grande to hold Wen off, once again generating online chatter. But that’s just one of the times when fans questioned their interactions and their appearance.

In a post by an IG user named Thefilmdiva, she questioned the memes Erivo has generated, including one of two differently-colored skeletons meant to represent Grande and Erivo.

“Maybe I’m that friend that’s too woke but I honestly don’t see what’s funny about all of these different memes and videos villainizing and making fun of Cynthia Erivo,” Thefilmdiva said in a video post. “Obviously, you guys know what happened in Singapore in the whole incident with the fan. But these videos that have come out of it, and mostly its from men, who are dressing up like Cynthia and pretending…with everything that’s going on, I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all. I feel like there’s a lot of underlying tones of racism in it, and misogyny. Like, why is it always men? Why are you making her very masculine? She’s just as small as Ari.”

SZA’s not having it. She says that she also believes the speculation is rooted in racism.

“Ir not bugging and no one is too woke ! It’s CLASSIC Misogynoir! NOTHING ELSE !!!,” SZA posted. “can’t believe it’s openly a thing in 2025 .. everyone’s gonna have cognitive dissonance 2 years later like “remember when everyone attacked Cynthia for being black bald and nurturing?… that was crazy” ..it could jus stop now lol 🤷🏾‍♀️

Grande and Erivo maintain they are “sisters” who helped each other get through the lengthy Wicked shoots.

“I was really thinking, ‘I just wanted to make sure my friend was safe,’ you know?” Erivo told Today about the red carpet incident in Singapore. “I’m sure he didn’t mean us harm, but you never know with those things, and I wanted to make sure that she was OK. That was my first instinct.”

While both are in relationships – Erivo is with filmmaker Lena Waithe, and Grande’s boyfriend is actor/writer Ethan Slater- that speculation has extended to questioning their friendship. Some believe the two are in a “toxic” relationship, which may or may not be romantic.

SZA has herself had to battle online bullies, who’ve dissected her plastic surgery and her singing talent. This summer, she was involved in a “beef” with Nicki Minaj that she says Nicki initiated.

See social media’s reaction to Erivo’s friendship with Grande below.