Ariana Grande Hits Pause on Wicked Press Blitz After Catching COVID – Again
Man, the past couple of weeks have been a total whirlwind for Ariana Grande and the whole Wicked crew. After jetting around the globe for premieres in London, Singapore, and New York to hype up Wicked: For Good – the big second installment where she and Cynthia Erivo reprise their witchy roles as Glinda and Elphaba – things finally caught up with her. On November 20, right as the promo push was wrapping up, Ariana dropped a casual Instagram Story bombshell: she’d tested positive for COVID-19.
She shared a black-and-white shot from her November 18 spot on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she’d been twirling that iconic Glinda wand like a pro and chatting up the film. Caption? “Moments before Covid.” Classic Ariana – dry humor even when she’s under the weather.
It meant she had to bail on a bunch of last-minute stuff, like her taping with Cynthia on The Kelly Clarkson Show (Cynthia’s going solo now) and some upcoming Q&A panels. Universal confirmed Cynthia had been sidelined earlier too, losing her voice right before the New York premiere on November 17, so Ariana skipped interviews there in solidarity. “Unfortunately, Cynthia is not feeling well and has lost her voice, therefore she and Ariana will not be doing interviews this evening,” the studio said at the time.
This isn’t Ariana’s first rodeo with COVID derailing Wicked vibes, either. Back during filming for the original movie in 2024, both she and Cynthia caught it at the worst possible moments – Ariana right before nailing “Popular,” and Cynthia days ahead of “Defying Gravity.” Talk about bad timing for those powerhouse numbers.
Of course, the tour wasn’t all smooth sailing even before the germs hit. Ariana had to skip the Brazil kickoff premiere earlier in November because of flight safety snags and delays – her team tried everything to make it work, but no dice. Then, at the Singapore red carpet on November 13, some overzealous fan (a 26-year-old guy named Johnson Wen) straight-up grabbed her. Cynthia didn’t miss a beat, jumping in like a total boss to shove him away and yell for security until he was hauled off. He ended up with nine days in jail for it, which feels like the bare minimum. Videos of the whole thing went viral, showing just how tight these two are off-screen.
And honestly, amid all that chaos, Ariana’s been dealing with nonstop chatter about her looks too. She’s always been tiny, but the weight loss she’s shown during this promo run has folks online twisting themselves into knots speculating – everything from stress to wild eating disorder rumors (which, let’s be real, are mostly baseless gossip from shady blind items). Back in a December 2024 interview, she got real about it: “I’ve heard it all. I’ve heard every version of it – what’s wrong with me, and then you fix it, and then it’s wrong for different reasons. It’s hard to protect yourself from that noise. I’ve been doing this in front of the public and been a specimen in a petri-dish since I was 16 or 17.”
She sounds so over it, but also grateful for her circle: “I’m really lucky to have the support system that I have, and to know and trust that I’m beautiful.” Preach.
With Ariana sidelined, Cynthia’s picking up the slack for the remaining spots, and the movie’s still barreling toward what looks like a monster opening – projections are $150-180 million domestically this weekend alone. Her big brother Frankie gave a sweet update to E! News, saying she’s “doing well” and sending “all the love and healing vibes.” At 42, he’s seen it all: “We’ve all had COVID at this point. We know that she’s going to be fine. She’s working so much.”
Fingers crossed she bounces back quick – Oz needs its Glinda at full sparkle. What a ride for these two, though. If you’ve seen the film or caught any of the drama, spill in the comments – did it live up to the hype?
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