Verified source report
‘I felt my humanity was bastardised’: Cynthia Erivo says reaction to Ariana Grande red carpet incident rooted in racism
Wicked co-star said reactions to the incident, which included suggestions she was Grande’s ‘bodyguard’, reflect an insidious view of Black women Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has said that reactions to the incident at the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good, in which she stepped in to fend off a red-carpet invader who grabbed co-star Ariana Grande, revealed “the insidious nature of how we view Black women” and put her off campaigning for Oscars. In an interview with Variety , Erivo said that she and Grande were “terrified” when Johnson Wen jumped a barrier at Universal Studios Singapore and rushed towards them. “Nobody moved. Nobody moved. So I moved because my brain went, ‘Get him away! Get him out of here!’ … 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.” Continue reading...
What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, ‘I felt my humanity was bastardised’: Cynthia Erivo says reaction to Ariana Grande red carpet incident rooted in racism, Wicked co-star said reactions to the incident, which included suggestions she was Grande’s ‘bodyguard’, reflect an insidious view of Black women Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has said that reactions to the incident at the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good, in which she stepped in to fend off a red-carpet invader who grabbed co-star Ariana Grande, revealed “the insidious nature of how we view Black women” and put her off campaigning for Oscars. In an interview with Variety , Erivo said that she and Grande were “terrified” when Johnson Wen jumped a barrier at Universal Studios Singapore and rushed towards them. “Nobody moved. Nobody moved. So I moved because my brain went, ‘Get him away! Get him out of here!’ … 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.” Continue reading…
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-05-28T11:34:42+00:00.
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Source
Primary source: ‘I felt my humanity was bastardised’: Cynthia Erivo says reaction to Ariana Grande red carpet incident rooted in racism via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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Source links
- ‘I felt my humanity was bastardised’: Cynthia Erivo says reaction to Ariana Grande red carpet incident rooted in racismThe Guardian - 2026-05-28T11:34:42+00:00
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