Ariana Grande Addresses Cynthia Erivo's Awards Season Snubs

When Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo work in tandem, the result is pure magic. However, this awards season has been looking a lot more pink than green. Erivo has surprisingly lost out on some key nominations for Wicked: For Good, which has her co-star feeling some type of way about getting her own recognition. Grande recently broke her silence about Erivo’s unexpected snubs during the 2026 awards season.

Movie fans were shocked when Erivo was not nominated for both the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Actor Awards (previously called the SAG Awards) this year, especially since she had been nominated at both ceremonies last year for her role as Elphaba in Wicked. While Erivo was shut out, Grande did manage to get nominations from both bodies for Wicked: For Good, the same the she received last year for Wicked.

Grande was asked about her co-star’s snubs in a Jan. 9 Variety interview. “Cynthia’s Elphaba is undeniable,” Grande responded. “Cynthia’s performance is the most truthful, vulnerable, and fierce Elphaba we’ve seen, and it will be referenced and adored for generations. That can’t be taken away.”

The Glinda actor also touched on Wicked’s director Jon M. Chu not being recognized either year by the Directors Guild of America Awards. “There aren’t enough flowers on this earth for Jon M. Chu,” Grande said. “He’s an extraordinary human being and director. This film will be watched for decades to come. He set out to move people, to challenge them, to make them better allies and better humans — and he succeeded.”

Grande went on to admit that it has been “hard” to fully appreciate the accolades she’s receiving when her collaborators aren’t necessarily getting the same.

“That’s why I say every good thing that happens to me belongs to them, too. None of this exists in isolation,” Grande said. “We informed each other every single day. Of course, it’s hard — they deserve all the flowers this world can grow.”