A barricade-jumping internet troll grabbed Ariana Grande during the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good, while Cynthia Erivo fought to remove him. Erivo said nobody moved at first, so she acted immediately because her brain told her to get him away. She described pushing to get him off because he would not let go. Cameras captured the incident, and online fandom discussion mocked her, including jokes framing her as Grande’s bodyguard. Erivo said the mockery reflected an insidious way Black women are viewed, focusing on her physique, shape, and baldness, and assuming she was controlling or protective. She said the incident may have made her less willing to promote the movie and campaign for awards.
"“Nobody moved. Nobody moved.” So I moved because my brain went, 'Get him away! Get him out of here!' 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.”"
"“I think that we haven't really come to terms with the insidious nature of how we view Black women. And I'm sure people will read this and think, 'Oh, for goodness' sake, it's not about that.' But it is,” Erivo continues. “Because that's what was being made fun of. It was my physique; it was my shape; it was the fact that I was bald; it was about what I looked like. And because of that, there was this assumption that I was bigger than my co-star and so I had to be controlling or protecting, and that was my role.”"
"“I would hazard a guess that it would not have been the same had it been the other way around.”"
"“Maybe in a way it did, actually.”"
Read at Jezebel
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