Yes, and?
Ariana Grande was asked point blank why she and her “Wicked: For Good” co-star Cynthia Erivo “like to touch each other” on Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast Tuesday.
The Grammy winner explained that she “channel[s] a lot of energy through [her] hands.”
The singer, 32, pointed out that she is “always holding a hand, always squeezing something” or “always reaching for something” — usually with whoever she is around.
Grande told listeners that she and Erivo, 38, have “worked hard to maintain” the close bond they developed playing Glinda and Elphaba, respectively.
“There’s a lot of time that passes between wrapping the film and the press tour happening,” she explained, noting that they do “check ins here and there when” possible.
“We’re both so busy but do our best to stay connected in that way and to take care of each other so we can honor the project as much as humanly possible,” Grande continued.
Grande’s displays of physical affection, she noted, are meant “to channel support and energy” to loved ones.
“I didn’t even notice that was a thing about me until that thing happened,” Grande added, referencing the viral moment in November 2024 when she held Erivo’s finger mid-interview and tapped it.
“I didn’t know what the f–k was going on,” the “Victorious” alum recalled of a reporter emotionally telling the actresses queer fans were “holding space” for “Defying Gravity” lyrics.
“I knew it was tender and beautiful, and I just wanted to be supportive,” the songwriter remembered. “It was sweet. It felt beautiful.”
One month after the headline-making finger grab, Grande broke her silence on it in a Variety interview.
“[The journalist] said something that meant something to [Erivo], then it meant something totally different to [Erivo], and then [the journalist] tried to kind of get somewhere else,” she said in the December 2024 sitdown. “I remember in the moment asking myself, ‘Am I OK? Did I not hear something?’”
The “Sam & Cat” alum reached for Erivo’s finger because she thought her friend “might need something.”
Grande quipped, “I feel really relieved that the world had the same experience with this moment that I did, because I felt like, ‘Oh I’m not broken.’ The best thing to is to really hold space with that.”
As for the tapping, Erivo jokingly blamed that on the “tension” in the room.
Additionally, Grande admitted to the outlet that she and Erivo were “insufferable” and “annoying” while promoting the movie.
The film’s second installment, “Wicked: For Good,” comes out Friday — and the duo have been just as affectionate at premieres this time around.
Erivo even jumped into action faster than security guards to save Grande from a crazed fan in Singapore last week.
