SZA says Cynthia Erivo has been getting hit with “classic misogynoir” throughout the Wicked: For Good press run — and she wants the hate to end immediately.
On Friday (November 28), the five-time Grammy winner responded to an Instagram reel calling out the “out of hand” mistreatment Erivo has faced during the movie’s promotional tour.
Some of the memes circulating online have portrayed Erivo as a skeleton or been used by men to mock her — including the viral moment where she shielded Ariana Grande after a fan rushed her at the Singapore premiere earlier this month.
The creator behind the reel, thefilmdiva, pointed out the “underlying tones of racism” in the offensive memes, and SZA echoed that sentiment.
“Ir not bugging and no one is too woke ! It’s CLASSIC Misogynoir! NOTHING ELSE !!! can’t believe it’s openly a thing in 2025,” SZA commented.
She added, “everyone’s gonna have cognitive dissonance 2 years later like ‘remember when everyone attacked Cynthia for being black bald and nurturing?… that was crazy’ ..it could jus stop now lol.”
SZA has defended Erivo before — most recently when Erivo was included in British GQ’s Men of the Year lineup, the same honor SZA received this year for the U.S. edition of GQ.
“I’m confused .. it’s 2025,” SZA commented on TikTok. “Kim Kardashian and so many other women have been chosen. I’m also man of the year. It’s the category name .. not an identity.. I’m sorry but this is a non topic.”
Despite how fans interpreted Erivo stepping in to protect Grande in Singapore, the actor has stood firmly behind her actions during an appearance on TODAY.
“I was really thinking, ‘I just wanted to make sure my friend was safe,’ you know?” Erivo explained. “I’m sure he didn’t mean us harm, but you never know with those things, and I wanted to make sure that she was OK. That was my first instinct.”
