In a shocking turn of events, pop star Ariana Grande, who is in the middle of promoting her latest movie ‘Wicked: For Good’ has tested positive for Covid-19. The star confirmed the diagnosis on her Instagram story where she posted a picture of her appearance on ‘The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon’, captioning it: “Moments before Covid”
The news comes amid reports that Grande’s ‘Wicked’ co-star Cynthia Erivo was feeling unwell and had ‘lost her voice’. Ariana herself was seen skipping out on interviews during the New York premiere for the movie.
Disruption in promotions for Wicked
Now, due to her Covid-19 diagnosis, Grande has to pull out of several scheduled Q & A discussions in the coming days as well as a taped appearance on the ‘Kelly Clarkson Show’ according to Variety. For the singer slash actor, this brings a halt to all promotional activities until she recovers.
This is not the first instance of a Covid diagnosis for the popstar as both her and co-star Cynthia Erivo tested positive for the disease during the filming of the first Wicked movie, though it was at separate times. Grande had tested positive before the sequence for ‘Popular’ was shot while Erivo was diagnosed before ‘Defying Gravity’.
About Wicked: For Good
Directed by Jon M Chu, who also directed the previous installment of the film, ‘Wicked: For Good’ continues from where ‘Wicked’ ended. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are playing the titular characters backed by a strong supporting cast comprising Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldbum, Peter Dinklage and Jonathan Bailey.
The film is based on the 2003 Broadway musical: ‘Wicked’ which in turn is an adaptation of the 1995 dark fantasy novel ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire which reimagines the 1900 children’s novel, ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ by L. Frank Baum
Grande reprises her role as Glinda in ‘Wicked: For Good’ and Erivo is set to appear on screen as Elphaba once again. The film is scheduled to release on November 21 2025.
