Cynthia Erivo Defends Ariana Grande From Fan Attack And Then Lands GQ’s “Man of the Year” Cover

Featured Image: Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty Images.

Cynthia Erivo has had quite a week: defending Ariana Grande from a barricade-jumping superfan in Singapore and gracing GQ’s Men of the Year cover. A double feature no one predicted.

The Incident: “98 Pounds of Cynthia Did More Than Security”

During the Wicked: For Good premiere in Singapore, 26-year-old Johnson Wen—the same man who proudly rushed Katy Perry’s stage earlier this year—leapt over a barricade, shoved past photographers, and grabbed Ariana Grande.

@parismatch #ArianaGrande chargée par un fan à l’avant-première de #Wicked à Singapour 😰 #CynthiaErivo #wickedmovie #filmtok ♬ son original – Paris Match

Security froze, fans screamed, and Cynthia Erivo moved fast, stepping in instinctively to shield Ariana until Wen was dragged out by staff. Many online questioned why he was able to get that close in the first place.

“Three big ass bodyguards, one unruly fan, and 98 pound Cynthia Erivo is the most effective at protecting Ariana Grande? Fire the entire security team,” one TikTok viewer said. Others pointed out Ariana’s history with violence and trauma, including the Manchester bombing and the murder of Christina Grimmie. “Imagine a random grown man sprinting at you and grabbing you. She has every right to react,” another user commented.

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Wen was arrested Thursday night, then posted to his Instagram story bragging he was “free.” By Friday afternoon, he’d been charged in Singapore court with causing a public nuisance, an offense carrying a fine of up to 2,000 SGD (around $1,500). Fans say the penalty isn’t enough and want his social media removed as well.

The internet unanimously applauded Erivo. Some called it “a beautiful act of womanhood.” Others praised the best-friend dynamic between her and Ariana, noting it’s rare to see that kind of emotional closeness between celebrity women on a red carpet.

One TikToker put it simply: “I will not be crossing Cynthia Erivo. Ever.”

Then Came GQ’s “Man of the Year” Cover—And More Confusion

Hours later, GQ dropped its Men of the Year cover starring Erivo and the internet short-circuited: “Wait… when was she a man?”

Cynthia Erivo graces the cover of GQ’s Men of the Year issue.

📸: Campbell Addy pic.twitter.com/rK5WCX8TOg

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 13, 2025

The imagery is striking: black leather and sculptural tailoring. Erivo looks like she’s about to reboot the entire franchise on her own terms, Matrix-style.

Many fans loved it, praising the styling as “editorial, artsy, high-fashion.” Others questioned whether it was bold representation, a PR gamble designed for virality, or something that inadvertently brushes up against the long history of Black women being masculinized in media.

However, it’s important to note that GQ has included women in its Men of the Year honors for many years, including Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lopez, Megan Thee Stallion, Naomi Osaka, and Regina King. What’s different here is that Cynthia is the only woman featured on a cover this year. Though she is not the first woman to receive the title, she is a rare, significant one. 

A Familiar Cynthia Erivo Debate

Erivo’s name often ends up at the center of online discourse. Her past clashes with fans during the Wicked rollout, like calling an Elphaba fan edit “offensive,” still linger. Her casting as Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar also drew controversy, with some audiences calling it provocative rather than artistic.

So when GQ chose her for a traditionally male-focused honor, some wondered whether she was being celebrated or strategically placed into a conversation engineered for attention.

One Reddit user joked: “My read is: even with all the excellent men we’re highlighting, Cynthia is still doing everything better than them.”

Cynthia Responds and Reflects

Erivo has mostly brushed off the confusion. She told Billboard earlier this year, “You can’t please everyone,” and noted her work often gets politicized because of her race and sexuality. “If I was a different person, in a different body, in a different skin, it wouldn’t be controversial.”

In the GQ interview itself, she goes deeper than any online discourse. She speaks candidly about her estranged father, saying, “This is the lemon. Make lemonade…I don’t have to be steeped in bitterness because that doesn’t serve me.” She also reflects on how often she’s cast as a woman carrying pain, telling the magazine: “People forget that when you play someone wounded or traumatized, your body doesn’t know it’s pretend. It takes something out of you.” 

Still, she insists on maintaining softness despite the world’s expectations. “You can choose to stay open,” she says. “You can choose joy. You can choose not to let the hard things calcify.”

And when asked about criticism defining her, she’s unapologetic: “I know people project things onto me…but I’m not interested in shrinking to make anyone more comfortable.”

She also talks about navigating anti-LGBTQ political tension, and about refusing to let others dictate who she can love: “who I love and who you love” have “nothing to do with each other,” and she doesn’t understand why people feel a need to “be involved in people’s business.” 

It’s safe to say, this is one of her most honest and most vulnerable profiles to date.

So…PR stunt or overdue recognition?

Maybe both. GQ clearly wanted a conversation. But Erivo also has the résumé: Tony, Grammy, Emmy, Oscar nominations, a blockbuster film, an upcoming Dracula role, and now a moment that somehow involved her doing what professional security could not.

Whether readers love the choice or question it, one thing’s clear: Cynthia Erivo knows how to dominate a news cycle, and look exceptional doing it.