Watch dramatic moment Cynthia Erivo leaps to protect Ariana Grande from fan at Wicked premiere
Cynthia Erivo defended Ariana Grande from a fan at the Wicked: For Good premiere. (TikTok)
Cynthia Erivo defended Ariana Grande from a fan at the Wicked: For Good premiere. (TikTok)
Cynthia Erivo has been applauded for leaping to Ariana Grande‘s defence, quite literally, after a fan rushed her at the Wicked: For Good premiere in Singapore.
The incident took place when the cast were walking the yellow carpet at Universal Studios Singapore on Thursday (13 November). Grande and Erivo were there alongside Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum at the time.
Footage on social media shows the cast walking the carpet when a man – identified as Johnson Wen aka @pyjamamann – jumps the fan barrier and rushes towards the “Positions” singer.
Erivo and Yeoh notice Wen approaching, but Wen is able to throw his arm around Grande’s shoulders and jump up and down.
Footage shows security rushing to separate the two. However, Erivo, wearing a black lacy gown, gets there first telling Wen to “let go of her.” In the encounter, which lasts seconds, Grande, dressed in a Cinderella-esque powder blue dress, is clearly shocked.
Prior to Wen getting to her, Grande had been facing the opposite direction while engaging with fans.
@nostalgicpopculturex Cynthia NOT-ON-MY-WATCH Erivo ladies and gentlemen #wickedforgood #arianagrande #cynthiaerivo #celebritynews ♬ original sound – Ellen | Pop Culture ✨
After Wen is separated from Grande, Erivo holds her friend close and comforts her along with Yeoh. Grande appears to confirm to security she’s ok as Erivo hugs her from behind. Other angles show the cast then continuing on the carpet while Wen is pinned to the ground by four men.
People have expressed shock and outrage that someone would try such a stunt. One person called it “unacceptable and highly inappropriate,” while others said it was “crazy.”
“Cynthia don’t play about her bestie”
On TikTok, people applauded Erivo for intervening before security could. “Cynthia don’t play about her bestie,” commented one person on footage of the incident.
Another fan highlighted that the moment could have been triggering for Grande who’s been open about experiencing PTSD following the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.
“GO CYNTHIA GOOOO,” typed another fan while someone else called the Wicked star a “queen.”
On his Instagram stories Wen, who shared footage of himself charging at Grande on his profile as well as his stories, said beforehand he’d been “dreaming” about meeting Grande. One person commented “shame on you!” on his post of the incident, which others echoed.
He also laughed about the incident after sharing footage of him being pinned to the crowd by four men. Wen also shared a post saying, “I’m free after being arrested.”
Wen has performed similar stunts at a Katy Perry concert in June as well as with The Weeknd in August and The Chainsmokers last December.
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