Cynthia Erivo speaks out on protecting Ariana Grande at Singapore ‘Wicked: For Good’ premiere

Cynthia Erivo has made her first public comments regarding the Nov. 13 incident in which Ariana Grande was accosted by an online prankster during the Wicked:For Good premiere in Singapore.

Erivo told Savannah Guthrie on NBC’s Today show Thursday why she stepped between the man, Johnson Wen, and her co-star Grande, and physically pulled him off her before security took him away.

“I was really thinking, I just wanted to make sure my friend was safe,” Erivo told Guthrie. “I’m sure he didn’t mean us harm, but I just, you never know with those things and I wanted to make sure that she was okay. That was my first instinct.”

Erivo went on to add of her relationship with Grande, “This is a long-lasting friendship for us. We’re kind of like sisters at this moment. And I think we’ve both learned from each other and given each other some really, really beautiful gifts. We’ve really looked after each other through this.”

As previously reported, Wen was sentenced to nine days in jail by a Singapore court after pleading guilty to public nuisance charges.

Wicked: For Good arrives in theaters Friday.

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