{"id":504666,"date":"2026-01-09T22:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T22:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/504666\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T22:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T22:00:19","slug":"ariana-grande-defends-cynthia-erivo-amid-wicked-for-good-awards-snubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/504666\/","title":{"rendered":"Ariana Grande Defends Cynthia Erivo Amid ‘Wicked: For Good’ Awards Snubs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIf music is confession, then acting is reconciliation for Ariana Grande<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI really love the work,\u201d Grande tells Variety. \u201cI love getting to know the little mental map of a person \u2014 what makes them tick, what triggers them. Even the things that never make it into the film.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking via Zoom from a sunlit room, the window light framing her like a natural spotlight, Grande radiates an ease that belies the gravity of what she is describing. She smiles often, her gratitude genuine and unguarded, even as she navigates questions about the skepticism she has often faced and the struggle to prove herself worthy of a space she has occupied since childhood. Now, she\u2019s an Academy Award nominee for her revelatory work as Glinda in \u201cWicked\u201d (2024) \u2014 and is once again in the awards hunt for its sequel, \u201cWicked: For Good<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe demands of the role arrived at a moment when Grande was already accustomed to being watched \u2014 and judged \u2014 from every angle. But acting, she insists, offers a fundamentally different kind of exposure than music. \u201cMusic is very self-focused. It\u2019s confession,\u201d she says. \u201cActing is confession through a character. You\u2019re still using your heart and soul, but you\u2019re honoring someone else\u2019s story. There\u2019s a layer of protection there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn \u201cWicked: For Good,\u201d that interior labor is everything. Grande\u2019s Glinda is bright and buoyant on the surface, but threaded with an underlying doubt and insecurity about her overhyped magical abilities. It is a performance that demands agility \u2014 emotional, musical and psychic \u2014 often within the same breath. \u201cEvery single day was a big day,\u201d she says. \u201cA lot of days, we were shooting two movies in one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe distinction between her two artistic lives matters profoundly to Grande. Music, she explains, is intimate and self-directed, inseparable from her own lived experience. Acting, by contrast, requires surrender. \u201cIt\u2019s an amazing experience to be able to jump into somebody else and tell someone else\u2019s story,\u201d she says. \u201cTo take yourself out of it, to be part of an ensemble \u2014 a small piece of a massive puzzle with hundreds and thousands of creative hands \u2014 that\u2019s a beautiful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAriana Granda is Glinda in WICKED FOR GOOD, directed by Jon M. Chu.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUniversal Pictures<\/p>\n

\n\tFrom the moment her casting was announced, Grande faced a familiar chorus of dismissal \u2014 the suggestion that celebrity precluded seriousness, that success in one medium somehow disqualified legitimacy in another. It is a narrative she has learned to keep at arm\u2019s length, constructing a protective distance between her work and the noise surrounding it.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI learned very quickly that I was going to have to shut it out,\u201d she says. \u201cThere was a lot of noise saying I couldn\u2019t handle it, or that I wasn\u2019t the right choice. But I had a job to do \u2014 a really big one. I had earned it, and I needed to give it my entire life and my being.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe did. The shoot was relentless, with emotional scenes filmed out of sequence, often back-to-back. \u201cThose days we would go home feeling like husks,\u201d Grande recalls. \u201cYou rehearse, you prepare, you live with these characters. But when the camera\u2019s rolling, you can\u2019t expect anything. It has to hurt the same every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat sustained her were the quiet hours \u2014 late-night car rides through London, calling her mother, replaying the day\u2019s work in the dark. \u201cThose moments felt sacred,\u201d she says. \u201cJust being proud of myself in the quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat pride is not performative. It is private, hard-earned and fiercely protected. \u201cIt can be very hurtful when people question your commitment,\u201d Grande admits. \u201cSo I focus on what\u2019s real. The love I feel. The people I meet. Gratitude is the only thing that reframes it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNow, as \u201cWicked: For Good\u201d carries her deeper into the awards conversation \u2014 most recently with her second consecutive nomination at the Actor Awards \u2014 Grande finds herself falling further in love with acting. She is clear-eyed about what comes next. Music will return \u2014 eventually. Acting, however, is no longer something she\u2019ll visit between albums.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI love actors,\u201d she says. \u201cI love talking about acting. I love learning how my process changes. I\u2019ll never take that for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd yes, she adds with a smile, there is another role ahead \u2014 one she is \u201cvery excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMore very soon,\u201d she promises.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAriana Grande sings \u2018The Girl in the Bubble\u2019 in \u2018Wicked: For Good\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUniversal Pictures<\/p>\n

\n\tRead excerpts from her interview below, which has been edited and condensed for clarity.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou\u2019ve said repeatedly that acting feels like coming home. What is it about acting that feeds you in a way nothing else does?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think it\u2019s an amazing experience to be able to step into somebody else and tell someone else\u2019s story. With music, it\u2019s very self-focused and deeply personal \u2014 it\u2019s your own experiences, your own pain and joy. Acting is different. The work is about serving another story, taking yourself out of it and being part of an ensemble. You\u2019re a small piece of a much larger puzzle, with hundreds or thousands of creative hands working together. That\u2019s a beautiful thing. I really missed that.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat part of the acting process do you love most? Is it the preparation, the rehearsal, or just being on set?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI really love being on set, but I also love the rehearsal process just as much. I think I love and find both to be just as enjoyable, because I love doing the work. I love the phase of the early days of getting to know the character and figure out who they are and what makes them tick and what triggers them, finding little pieces of information that matter to you as the actor that you can use and experience on set that don\u2019t even matter for the film, but that you can pull on and draw from for your own experience. I really love getting to know the little mental map of the person \u2014 that\u2019s really fun. But also being on set, I\u2019m present and I enjoy all parts. I do. <\/p>\n

\t\tWhat surprised you most about yourself once you found yourself really committed to acting again?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tEvery time something goes well \u2014 even if you\u2019ve prepared for it for years \u2014 there\u2019s always that rush of relief and gratitude afterward. You think, \u201cOh my goodness, OK, we did it.\u201d You call your acting coach or your mom and say, \u201cWe did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWith \u201cWicked,\u201d that feeling happened constantly. Cynthia and I joke about it, but it\u2019s true \u2014 every single day was a big day. We started with \u201cPopular\u201d and \u201cWhat Is This Feeling?\u201d and then jumped straight into \u201cDefying Gravity.\u201d Before lunch, I\u2019d be in the attic at the beginning of the number, and after lunch I\u2019d be singing the finale alone. It was nonstop mental hurdles. There was no time to process what had happened the day before \u2014 or even earlier that day \u2014 because we had such quick turnarounds. It was very much blinders on, just staying in it. But whenever something landed, there was that overwhelming sense of relief.<\/p>\n

\t\tThe \u201cFor Good\u201d number, particularly the \u201csplit door\u201d frame is easily the single best acting work of your career. How did you get into that mindset, especially with such a fractured shooting schedule?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s why Glinda is such a gift to an actor. She requires everything. Even in the lighter, comedic moments, there\u2019s someone deeply insecure underneath the surface. Across both films, there\u2019s so much happening in her head at all times. Even when she\u2019s using comedy to cover the fact that she\u2019s breaking \u2014 especially in front of Elphaba \u2014 both things are always present. It\u2019s a lot, but that\u2019s why I love her. It was such a privilege to play her.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn days like that, you just have to be present. Cynthia and I have very different processes, and we\u2019re very different as people and as actors. That day was about finding a balance \u2014 giving each other space when needed and then coming together at the end with a hug, holding hands. Those days were emotionally exhausting. You\u2019re doing the scene all day, across different angles, different sizes, different coverage, and it all has to connect.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe hardest but most rewarding part is resetting every time. Even though you rehearse and live with these characters, you can\u2019t anticipate the moment. It has to hurt the same way every time and feel just as real. We would go home feeling like husks.<\/p>\n

\t\tDo you get frustrated by the perception that you\u2019re not fully committed to acting, especially after giving so much to scenes like that?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI try really hard to maintain distance from that so I don\u2019t get hurt anymore. I learned quickly that I had to do that from the moment I was cast. There was a lot of noise saying I couldn\u2019t handle it or wasn\u2019t the right choice. But I had a job to do \u2014 a really big one \u2014 and I needed to shut everything else out and focus on what was real. I had earned the role, and I needed to give it my entire being.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m proud knowing that\u2019s what I did. I\u2019m a very committed artist, and it can be hurtful when that\u2019s questioned. So I protect myself by focusing on the love and support that\u2019s louder and more real. I have real interactions with people \u2014 moments that make me cry, stories that stay with me. I don\u2019t take that for granted. I\u2019m proud of the work I do and the artist I am. But yes \u2014 sometimes it\u2019s hard.<\/p>\n

\t\tDo you feel less judged when you\u2019re inhabiting a role or when you\u2019re being yourself?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s present either way. It feels pretty consistent no matter what.<\/p>\n

\t\tIf music is confession for you, then what is acting?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s confession through a character. You\u2019re still accessing parts of yourself, but you\u2019re using someone else as the vessel. There\u2019s a layer of protection \u2014 a kind of coding that says, \u201cThis isn\u2019t my story.\u201d But it is you doing the work. You\u2019re still crying the tears, feeling the feelings, laughing the laughs. It\u2019s still your heart and soul at play \u2014 just in service of someone else\u2019s story. And in doing that, you learn so much about yourself.<\/p>\n

\t\tDo you feel like you\u2019ve given yourself permission to be taken seriously as an actor?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThat idea of permission is really interesting. I\u2019m so grateful to have earned the role, and I think that was the beginning of it. My early lessons with Nancy Banks \u2014 when she believed in me and told me I was doing beautiful work \u2014 mattered so much. Sometimes it\u2019s easier to hear that from someone you respect deeply, like her or John Chu. It takes time to sink in, but I do feel like I\u2019ve given myself permission. As for the rest of the world, I try to focus on the work.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou\u2019re now an Academy Award nominee Ariana Grande. A moniker that can never be taken away from you. What does that recognition mean to you?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s incredibly surreal. It still doesn\u2019t feel real. It feels like the warmest welcome into a community I truly love. I love acting. I love actors. I love talking about acting and learning about other people\u2019s processes \u2014 and my own. It\u2019s life-changing, and I\u2019ll never take it for granted.<\/p>\n

\t\tCynthia Erivo wasn\u2019t nominated by SAG, and Jon Chu wasn\u2019t nominated by the DGA. What are your thoughts on those omissions?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThere aren\u2019t enough flowers on this earth for Jon M. Chu. He\u2019s an extraordinary human being and director. This film will be watched for decades to come. He set out to move people, to challenge them, to make them better allies and better humans \u2014 and he succeeded.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe impact of his work and Cynthia\u2019s Elphaba is undeniable. Cynthia\u2019s performance is the most truthful, vulnerable and fierce Elphaba we\u2019ve seen, and it will be referenced and adored for generations. That can\u2019t be taken away.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s why I say every good thing that happens to me belongs to them, too. None of this exists in isolation. We informed each other every single day. Of course, it\u2019s hard \u2014 they deserve all the flowers this world can grow.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat do you hope audiences say about you five years from now?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI want to challenge myself and take on roles that exercise different muscles and ask something new of me. I try to stay present rather than thinking too far ahead, but I hope we\u2019ve had many more conversations like this \u2014 about projects that are unique, surprising and meaningful. I\u2019m drawn to things that feel different.<\/p>\n

\t\tI\u2019m contractually obligated by the \u201cArianators\u201d to ask about your upcoming music tour. Should fans expect new music before then?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNo \u2014 definitely not. Nothing is coming before May. I love them so much, but sometimes I want to ask, \u201cDo you think there\u2019s another version of me out there who had time to write an album?\u201d Not yet \u2014 but soon enough.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou have \u201cAmerican Horror Story\u201d and \u201cMeet the Fockers\u201d coming. Is there anything else you can tease?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThere is something else I\u2019m very excited about down the line. I can\u2019t say much yet, but it\u2019s something that inspires me deeply. It contains multitudes. I promise I\u2019ll DM you the day it\u2019s announced.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat has been the hardest but most meaningful moment of being an actor so far?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tMy mind immediately goes to being on set \u2014 the days that required the most challenging work of my career, all of which were on these films. Going home in a quiet car through pitch-black London, knowing I\u2019d be back before sunrise \u2014 those moments were sacred. Just sitting with the work, feeling proud, calling my mom to tell her how it went. I\u2019ll never forget those rides home. Being there and doing the work meant everything to me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If music is confession, then acting is reconciliation for Ariana Grande. \u201cI really love the work,\u201d Grande tells…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":504667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[179,26732,171,67,132,68,148123],"class_list":{"0":"post-504666","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-ariana-grande","9":"tag-cynthia-erivo","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us","14":"tag-wicked-for-good"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115867394014871425","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}