Cynthia Erivo Says Protecting Ariana Grande From Aggressive Man at ‘Wicked’ Premiere Was ‘Instinct’

A week ago, an incident involving a man charging at Ariana Grande on the Wicked red carpet in Singapore made headlines — not just because of how terrifying it was, but also due to the heroic way Cynthia Erivo immediately stepped in to protect her costar.

Viral videos from the premiere show how the culprit — later identified as 26-year-old Johnson Wen, who was arrested for his actions — jumped over the barricade and barreled straight toward the pop superstar on the red carpet, putting an arm around her neck and grabbing onto her shoulder as Erivo pried him off and yelled at him not to touch Grande. Many were quick to praise the Tony winner for her quick thinking, but in an interview with Today Thursday (Nov. 20), she explained that it was all “instinct.”

“I wasn’t really thinking,” Erivo told host Savannah Guthrie. “I just wanted to make sure my friend was safe.”

“I wanted to make sure that she was OK,” she continued, shrugging. “That was my first instinct, yeah.”

Erivo’s instincts served her and Grande well. By the time security personnel jumped in to haul Wen away from the scene, the Pinocchio star had already mostly torn him away from the R.E.M. Beauty founder, whom Erivo further guarded by putting a protective arm around until Wen was a comfortable distance away.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean us harm, but you never know with those things,” she said, adding of Grande, “We’ve really looked after each other in this.”

Regardless of Wen’s intentions, the Australian man was placed under arrest by Singapore police and sentenced to nine days in jail for the charge of being a “public nuisance.” It’s not the first time he’s faced legal repercussions for his behavior, previously getting arrested for stage-crashing one of Katy Perry’s concerts over the summer and touching her without consent.

The Wicked premiere at which Wen charged at Grande marked the last stop on the film’s international press tour leading up to the Friday (Nov. 21) theatrical release of Wicked: For Good. The long-awaited film comes almost exactly one year after the first installment came out, shattering box-office records and earning Oscars for best costume design and best production design.

Watch Erivo’s full interview with Today above.