Cynthia Erivo Jumps In To Protect Ariana Grande After Fan Jumps Barricade At 'Wicked: For Good' Premiere

The friendship and bond between Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande is now so legendary it's spawned gazillions of memes.

But during the press tour of the sequel Wicked: For Good, that bond reached a whole new level.

During the tour's stop in Singapore, a fan jumped a barricade and lunged at Grande, and Erivo leapt in to protect her like some kind of superhero.

The terrifying moment occurred at the hands of 26-year-old Johnson Wen, who has developed a reputation for repeatedly pulling these kinds of antics at celebrity events.

As Grande and Erivo, with Michelle Yeoh between them, walked the event's yellow carpet, Wen suddenly lunged onto the carpet and grabbed Grande with an intensity that knocked the pop diva off-balance.

Erivo immediately dove across Yeoh and placed herself between Grande and Wen, pulling him away from her and putting her arms around Grande until security could subdue him.

In a November 13 Instagram Story, Wen said he had been arrested for the incident but freed.

He has since been charged with being a public nuisance in a Singapore court and according to media reports, intends to plead guilty.

Wen has done this several times before and has documented the incidents on social media, including jumping onto the stage at one of Katy Perry's concerts in Sydney, Australia, earlier this year and a Chainsmokers show last December.

Incidents like this are, of course, taken very seriously by celebrities, who are frequently stalked and threatened by deranged weirdos.

And of course, there is a long history of celebrities actually being murdered by deranged fans, including The Voice star and singer Christina Grimmie, Beatles legend John Lennon and 1980s sitcom actress Rebecca Schaeffer.

Many of Grande's fans were disturbed by the incident, given her own history of PTSD following a suicide bombing during her 2017 concert in Manchester, UK.

On social media, many were grateful that Erivo was able to not only step in during Wen's attack, but be a comfort to Grande in the aftermath.

Both Erivo and Grande have been outspoken about how deeply and immediately they bonded during the making of the Wicked films.

Earlier this year Erivo said:

“There's a wonderful synergy when you're working with a person who gets it, and they can look in your eyes and know exactly what you need, when you need it, without you having to say it.”

Thank goodness for not only their bond but Erivo's quick reflexes, because this incident could have been so much worse.