Inside the Unfair Backlash Against Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande After Wicked: For Good

The internet has decided that Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande holding hands is a five-alarm fire. While they do the rounds for Wicked: For Good, their friendship is getting clipped, memed, and turned into a rumor factory. Let’s separate the actual news from the noise.

About that bizarre relationship label rumor

You may have seen a post claiming Erivo finally put a name on her dynamic with Grande: a 'non-demi curious, semi-binary' relationship. The supposed explanation attached to it boils down to: not an official couple, but curious about what that could mean. That story rocketed across social feeds with plenty of performative outrage along for the ride.

Here’s the reality: it’s fake. The 'report' comes from The Lamented, a Facebook page that openly bills itself as a satire-and-nonsense shop. Their whole thing is made-up bits — this is the same page that joked Meghan Markle and Princess Diana were 'identical twins.' In other words, the relationship-label post was never meant to be taken seriously, and treating it like a scoop is giving a punchline way too much credit.

Why everyone is worked up about their press tour

Separate from the hoax, Erivo and Grande have been catching heat for how they act together in interviews and on carpets for Wicked and its sequel. The running critique: they come off intense, codependent, and overly touchy. Fans have passed around clips of Erivo fussing over Grande’s necklace, the two holding hands, and Erivo being visibly protective — which some people framed as sweet and others labeled as, well, creepy. Grande has addressed the hand-holding recently and said there’s a straightforward reason for it. The gist: it’s not that deep.

The tabloid twist (grain of salt required)

Adding to the mess, Star — via Yahoo Entertainment — ran an anonymous-source claim that their on-camera closeness is performative and that things behind the scenes got tense enough to bring in a mediator. Neither actor has confirmed anything like that. It reads exactly like the kind of anonymous, can’t-verify drama that pops up during a massive movie rollout, so treat it accordingly.

• The viral 'non-demi curious, semi-binary' label is a satirical gag from The Lamented, not real reporting.
• The backlash is mostly about their affectionate promo behavior — think hand-holding and caretaking moments — which some people love and others mock.
• Grande has spoken about the hand-holding and framed it as a simple, practical choice during a high-pressure press tour.
• A separate tabloid item claims their dynamic is an act and alleges a mediator got involved; there’s no confirmation from either star.
• Wicked: For Good is in theaters now; the first Wicked is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.

Bottom line: the relationship-label story is 100% made up, the rest is people reading tea leaves from promo clips, and the movie’s out regardless of how much hand-holding you think is too much.