The relationship between Wicked witches Glinda and Elphaba is perhaps the greatest platonic love story of all time.
But don’t tell that to Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo — depicting the pair on-screen once again in the new Wicked: For Good movie — who appear to be gunning for that title in real life.
In a repeat of last year’s memorable antics, that saw the inseparable pair repeatedly crying and touching each other while out promoting the first Wicked movie, the recent press tour for the sequel has been equally ridiculous – with yet more weeping and even one bizarre breakdown over a noisy nearby helicopter.
Such is their hyper-emotional closeness that Grande herself has even joked about being ‘secretly married’ to Erivo (fans have given them the relationship name ‘Gelphie’).
But while they certainly appear to be thick as thieves, some people aren’t buying it, dismissing the dynamic as a calculated ploy to distract from Grande’s reportedly strained relationship with her co-star Ethan Slater, who has been largely absent from the recent promotional tour.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have raised more than a few eyebrows with their seemingly bizarre behavior on the press tour for Wicked: For Good
A Broadway World video captured Erivo rearranging Grande’s jewelry for a second time. Other antics have seen them bursting into tears, shooing away helicopters and holding onto one another’s fingers
Despite the naysayers, however, insiders have insisted to the Daily Mail that Erivo, 38, and Grande, 32, are in fact ‘genuine’ best friends.
‘Cynthia is super protective of Ariana and is like the big sister Ari’s never had,’ our source said. ‘She worships the ground she walks on. They’ve bonded with each other on so many levels and have complete trust with each other.
‘It’s very rare for two leading actresses to be this close, but their friendship is 100 percent genuine.’
And Erivo — who has been mocked for ‘fixing’ Grande’s necklace and kissing her hand mid-interview — certainly displayed that protective instinct when she stepped in to protect Grande as she was ambushed by serial harasser on the red carpet in Singapore earlier this month.
Such was Erivo’s swift response, that she jumped in to pull Grande away from her attacker before their slow-to-the-mark bodyguards were able to leap into action.
The event was said to have left Grande ‘triggered’. (She has spoken about her struggled with PTSD after the bombing at her 2017 concert in Manchester that left 22 dead and over 1,000 injured).
Others have suggested the unusual dynamic is a calculated ploy to distract from Grande’s reportedly strained relationship with her costar Ethan Slater (pictured)Â
‘Cynthia has taken the role of protector, like a big sister to Ariana as they clicked so much,’ said a second insider who insisted their friendship is ‘authentic and real.’
‘She’s six years older, it just naturally became that way,’ the second insider added. ‘If people want to talk about their relationship being weird, whatever. Ari doesn’t care if people think it’s weird, if it drums up interest in the movie, it’s a win.’
For the most part, Erivo is also unfazed by the public response to her protective behavior.
‘I’m never going to be able to please every single person on the planet and nor should I,’ she said this week. ‘I don’t really care what everyone thinks about me.’
But it is also true that duo could soon struggle to maintain their close bond once their promotional duties for Wicked finally wrap, our insiders said.
For despite Erivo now being one of Grande’s ‘closest confidants,’ it is understood that they often don’t have time to see each other when they’re not working together.
‘They text and have phone calls all of the time, but when they’re not filming or on a press tour together they often don’t have time to hang out like regular friends,’ said our first insider. ‘You’re not going to see them go shopping together. They both have busy schedules and Ariana is mainly in Los Angeles and Cynthia is in London.
‘Post-Wicked will be a true test of their friendship. Things can change a year from now like most Hollywood friendships tend to.’
