Holding space for “Wicked” friendships

Throughout the press tours for both Wicked (2024) and its new sequel, Wicked: For Good (2025), Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo — the lead actors in both movies — have been a “Popular” topic of online debate. 

There are many moments that come to mind when I think about the duo’s dynamic in the press: last year’s “holding space” interview, where Grande gripped Erivo’s finger, and more recently, when Erivo pushed away a fan who accosted Grande before holding her protectively.

Their relationship is unique to say the least. On the press tour, the pair are constantly making physical contact, seemingly joined at the hip, while crying often and holding each other for comfort. Erivo and Grande even have matching tattoos that connect when they hold hands. 

While the internet freaks out about their codependency and constant invasion of personal space, I have to admit the friendship is strange — but refreshing. I don’t see why people have to put them down online.

Grande and Erivo filmed two back-to-back movies together, sang multiple intense duets in the film and did two press tours. In the films, their characters have an intense friendship, and it appears the actors in those roles understandably developed a similar, passionate relationship.

It’s not uncommon for actors to come out of filming shows and movies in relationships with other cast members — Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt — and no one bats an eye. But when two women bond during filming and become close friends, the internet is dumbfounded.

It’s also important to remember that these women are theatre kids — so this hyper-dependent, post-filming behaviour could be the Hollywood extreme of the bond castmates often form in any low-budget musical. 

Quite frankly, despite it being unconventional, Erivo and Grande’s friendship feels genuine. They don’t seem to have befriended each other for publicity. 

The fact that they are so touchy may make people uncomfortable, but there is nothing wrong with what they’re doing. Friends can hold hands, and they can be supportive of one another. 

In a 2024 video, Erivo mentioned that Grande loves physical contact, adding that they hold hands regularly while walking. Grande has been through a lot, with the bombing at her 2017 concert in Manchester, United Kingdom and the death of her longtime friend and ex-boyfriend Mac Miller in 2018.  

Give the girl a break! If holding Erivo’s finger is what she needs to get through this publicity, let her have it. 

Online critics are calling the stars too codependent, criticizing their weight and more. The public doesn’t know what it’s like to be a celebrity, always on camera and criticized in the media. If this is what they need to do to get through it, then so be it — there are far worse ways to cope. 

If anything, their relationship made the performance even better: they have fabulous on-screen chemistry, and the way their vocals angelically intertwine is crazy impressive. Their duets are unforgettable. 

If their friendship is the result of a fabulously made film — or even if the quality of their on-screen relationship is the result of their friendship — it feels worth it. 

Their relationship is invigorating, and it made me more inclined to watch the films that sparked their bond.

Their quirky friendship is a reminder that they are just as eccentric as the rest of us, with the same capacity for weird and wonderful relationships. 

Regardless of the peculiarities of their relationship, it seems the Wicked friendship is here to stay, and I wholeheartedly support the two women who brought the story to the big screen.