Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo spent years looking inseparable while bringing “Wicked” to life. But now that the blockbuster franchise has wrapped its theatrical run, a new report claims the pair have quietly taken a step back from their once highly visible friendship.
The timing has fueled speculation that something changed between the co-stars. However, insiders insist the distance has less to do with bad blood and more to do with both women reclaiming their individual careers after months of living in the Wicked spotlight.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are reportedly speaking far less after months of promoting Wicked together
According to RadarOnline, Grande and Erivo intentionally decided to pull back after the whirlwind press tour surrounding “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good,” which reportedly earned a combined $1.2 billion at the global box office.
“The whole Wicked press tour became way bigger than anyone expected,” a source told RadarOnline. “It stopped being just promo and turned into this massive online obsession with their friendship.”
The insider added, “They were constantly together, constantly praising each other, and it created this idea that they were inseparable in real life as well as on screen.”
According to the source, every interaction between the actresses was dissected online. “The reaction online got so intense for them both… every little moment was clipped, analyzed and turned into memes, which eventually became quite overwhelming,” the insider claimed.
Erivo, however, recently pushed back on the growing speculation. Speaking to Variety, she said fans often misunderstood what was really happening behind the scenes.
“I think that people didn’t really believe that we were actually friends,” Erivo said. She added that she and Grande still text “almost every day.”
“It’s very interesting, watching what people’s perception is versus what the reality actually is,” Erivo told Variety. “Lots of psychologists seated at home deciding who we were, what we were going through, what we were doing and why.”
The actress also reflected on the bond they built while filming. In her memoir “Simply More,” Erivo wrote that she and Grande made “a pact” before production began. “We committed to protecting and caring for each other through this process,” she wrote, explaining they wanted to avoid the rivalry often expected between female co-stars.
Grande has been equally vocal about her admiration. Speaking in January, she called Erivo’s Elphaba performance “the most truthful, vulnerable and fierce Elphaba we’ve seen,” adding that it “will be reverenced and adored for generations,” according to RadarOnline.
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Originally reported by Vanshika Vasundhare Singh for Reality Tea
