Yes, and?
Ariana Grande was asked a direct question on Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast Tuesday about why she and Wicked: For Good co-star Cynthia Erivo “like to touch each other.”
The Grammy winner explained that he is “sending a lot of energy through my hands.”
The 32-year-old singer noted that she’s “always holding hands, always holding something,” or “always reaching for something” — usually with everyone around her.
Grande told listeners that she and Erivo, 38, have “worked hard to maintain” the close bond they developed playing Glinda and Elphaba, respectively.
“It takes a lot of time between wrapping a film and holding a press tour,” she explained, noting that she “checks in here and there” as much as possible.
“We’re both very busy, but we’re doing our best to stay connected and take care of each other so that we can honor the project as much as humanly possible,” Grande continued.
She noted that Grande’s physical displays of affection are meant to “show support and energy” to her loved ones.
“I didn’t even realize it was me until that happened,” Grande added, referring to the moment she grabbed Erivo’s finger and tapped her during an interview in November 2024.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” the “Victorious” alum recalled of a reporter who emotionally told the actresses that queer fans were “taking space” for the lyrics of “Defying Gravity.”
“I knew it was sweet and beautiful and I just wanted to support it,” the songwriter recalled. “It was sweet. It felt beautiful.”
A month after the finger-grabbing incident that made headlines, Grande broke her silence about the incident in an interview with Variety magazine.
“[The journalist]said something that meant something to[Erivo]but then it meant something completely different to[Erivo]and[the journalist]tried to go somewhere else,” she said at a rally in December 2024. “I remember at that moment asking myself, ‘Are you OK? Did I hear anything?’
The “Sam & Cat” alum reached for Erivo’s finger. Her friend thought she might need something.
Grande said: “It was such a relief to see so many people all over the world having the same experience that I had in this moment, because I was like, ‘Oh, I’m not broken.'” The best thing to do is to really give yourself space.
As for the eavesdropping, Erivo jokingly blamed the “tension” in the room.
Additionally, Grande admitted to the outlet that she and Erivo were “intolerable” and “a nuisance” while promoting the movie.
The pair were just as affectionate at the premiere of their second film, Wicked: For Good, which opens on Friday.
Erivo even jumped into action before security guards could save Grande from a rabid fan in Singapore last week.
