If you turned up at the “Wicked: For Good” premiere in New York hoping to get a word in with one of the film’s biggest stars, Cynthia Erivo, then you may have been out of luck.
On Monday, Nov. 17, when the 38-year-old actress — who stars as Elphaba — stepped onto the red carpet at Lincoln Center, she wasn’t speaking.
Not too long before the premiere kicked off, Variety reported that Erivo would not be doing interviews after losing her voice — and that Ariana Grande, who stars alongside her as Glinda, would be skipping interviews as well in solidarity.
But before the night wrapped, the world had heard from both women. Grande stepped up to handle the press on Erivo’s behalf.
“I’m not letting her speak; she has to rest her voice,” Grande told E! News on the carpet, with Erivo smiling and nodding silently beside her.
“There’s only so much the human body can endure,” she added.
Grande didn’t miss the chance to hype her co-star either, shouting out Erivo’s book and her solo album.
And though she tried to stay completely silent, Erivo did ultimately let out a few gentle words of her own. Speaking in a soft whisper — after signaling to Grande to relay the message — she said, “It’s really beautiful that we’re finishing here [in New York] where it started.”
Erivo’s moody look for the night matched her quiet and mysterious vibe. She arrived in an all-black ensemble featuring a leather mock-neck top trimmed with feathered fringe and a full-length skirt, finished off with a pair of oversized, bug-eyed dark shades. Grande, meanwhile, floated in beside her wearing a black-and-white strapless organza ball gown.
The moment came not long after a brief scare on the carpet at the Asia-Pacific premiere in Singapore on Nov. 13, when a fan jumped a barricade at the yellow carpet at Universal Studios Singapore and rushed Ariana Grande. Erivo instinctively stepped in to shield Grande.
Other than that jolt, the film’s global promotional run has been an ease on down the road, spanning five cities — São Paulo (Nov. 4), Paris (Nov. 7), London (Nov. 10), Singapore (Nov. 13), and New York (Nov. 17).
“Wicked: For Good” hits theaters Friday, Nov. 21, whisking audiences back to Oz for the franchise’s final chapter.
