Cynthia Erivo criticises public response to viral Wicked premiere incident

Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.AllNewsSportCultureLifestyleCynthia Erivo has criticised the public reaction to an incident where she protected Ariana Grande from a fan, saying it reflects "the insidious nature of how we view Black women". The incident took place at the Wicked: For Good premiere in Singapore, when a TikTok prankster jumped a barricade and grabbed Grande. Erivo pushed the man away before security intervened, with fans initially praising her and joking she acted as Grande's "bodyguard". Erivo told Variety she took issue with being painted as Grande’s “protector”, adding “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.”The attacker, identified as Australian Johnson Wen, was later arrested, charged with public nuisance, and sentenced to nine days in prison. In fullCynthia Erivo says comments calling her Ariana Grande’s ‘bodyguard’ reflect ‘insidious’ treatment of Black womenThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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