Cynthia Erivo speaks out after scary Ariana Grande fan incident: ‘We’ve had to really deal with some stuff’

Grande solemnly nodded her head and teared up as Erivo reflected on the shocking incident at the “Wicked: For Good” premiere in Singapore.

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Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the Singapore premiere of ‘Wicked: For Good’ on Nov. 13

Cynthia Erivo and  Ariana Grande have been through hell and back to bring Wicked to the big screen.

The superstars atop the big-ticket stage musical adaptation endured a harrowing encounter at Thursday’s Wicked: For Good premiere in Singapore, when an attendee jumped the barricade and rushed Grande on the yellow carpet. With the self-described “troll” apprehended and charged, the dust has begun to clear, leaving Erivo free to reflect on the frightening moment.

“What’s even more wonderful is the fact that there are other people who have seen themselves in this movie, in that character, and also now see themselves and feel safe. That, for me, is the pinnacle of what I could ever wish for from any piece of work I have ever done. And I am so glad that in order to do it, I had to look into the eyes of this person beside me,” Erivo shared on Saturday at a special Screen Actors Guild screening held at the Television Academy in Los Angeles that was attended by Entertainment Weekly.

“And we have come through some shit. We have come through some stuff in our lives, in our daily workings,” she continued. “I mean, f—, even this last week. Let’s be honest, for f—‘s sakes, we’ve had to really deal with some stuff, and this movie has allowed us to really grow as people, as friends, as sisters, as artists, as actresses.”

As Erivo spoke, Grande emphatically nodded her head. When the Elphaba to her Glinda began to touch on Thursday’s encounter, Grande stared ahead, eventually tearing up in a state of visible emotion.

“That is the thing that is special about this piece,” Erivo continued. “And I’ll miss being in this group of people this constantly. Because you don’t get a group of people this close often on a set. You don’t earn family like this often, and we have. F—ing lucky thing to be a part of.”

“Not only did it happen, it happened with a director who became a brother, a partner who became a sister, and a cast full of wonderful, extraordinary people, who were brave enough to dig into themselves, to find out a little more about who they were, to inform the characters that they were playing, and which then forced me to excavate some of the things that I had been sort of stamping on and putting under my feet, because I was too scared to look at them.”

Wicked: For Good flies into theaters on Nov. 21, but first premiered in São Paulo, Brazil, on Nov. 4, with premieres following in Paris, London, and finally Singapore. When walking the yellow carpet, a nod to the sequel catching up to the famous yellow brick road of its on-screen antecedent, The Wizard of Oz, Erivo was the first to intervene when the renegade attendee reached Grande.

Multiple videos taken by other attendees show 26-year-old Johnson Wen leap over the gates holding fans back from the ensemble cast and charge directly toward Grande. He throws his arm around her and starts jumping up and down, smiling. Erivo starts yelling at Wen to release her and back off, and physically attempts to separate him from her costar. Their castmate Michelle Yeoh is finally able to pull Grande away to safety, by which point security had caught up to and restrained Wen.

Wen, who referrs to himself as “Pyjama Man,” has become notorious for pulling such stunts with stars like Katy Perry, The Weeknd, and The Chainsmokers, all of whom he’s rushed on stage. He shared a video of himself charging Grande and even thanked the star on his Instagram account the day of the incident, writing, “Dear Ariana Grande Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You.”

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Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the Singapore premiere of ‘Wicked: For Good’ on Nov. 13, 2025

Though he posted that he was “free after being arrested,” he was eventually hit with charges of being a public nuisance by a Singapore court. He faces a fine of up to S$2,000 (just over $1,500) if found guilty.

Grande, who survived a terrorist attack at a Manchester concert in 2017 that claimed the lives of 22 of her fans, has not yet spoken out about this latest incident.