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‘I felt my humanity was bastardised’: Cynthia Erivo says reaction to Ariana Grande red carpet incident rooted in racism

Cynthia Erivo, co-star of the Wicked film franchise, has stated that public reactions to her intervening to protect Ariana Grande from a red carpet intruder at the Singapore premiere of *Wicked: For Good* were rooted in racist perceptions of Black women, including false assumptions she was Grande's bodyguard. The incident left Erivo feeling dehumanized and reluctant to campaign for Oscars for the film, while the intruder Johnson Wen, who had a history of disrupting public events, was sentenced to nine days in jail.