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Cynthia Erivo’s lightening quick reactions have earned her a flood of memes after she rescued close friend and co-star Ariana Grande from an over excited fan on Thursday.
The actresses are currently engaged in a world tour on behalf of their new film Wicked: For Good, the second of three planned prequels to The Wizard Of Oz.
But Thursday’s premiere in Singapore went awry after Grande was ambushed by an over-exuberant fan while walking the red carpet outside Universal Studios.
Fortunately, co-star Erivo, 38, was on hand to pull her from the ensuing melee, with many fans comparing her actions to those of Kevin Costner in Hollywood blockbuster The Bodyguard.
Taking to Instagram on Friday morning, fans heaped praise on the British actress for risking her own safety while assisting her co-star.
Sharing a brief video of the incident, one commented: ‘Now THAT’S friendship. WOW. Pretty’s scary stuff but having a friend like that leap into action? I’m sensing a Bodyguard reboot!
‘PS There was so much security. How did this even happen?’
Commenting on the post, a second fan added: ‘That’s a true friend. She didn’t even think for herself she sprung to protect.’
Elsewhere, a third joked: ‘Cynthia was Amazing! If she ever needs a job outside of Acting Security is her gig.’
While a fourth wrote: ‘Girl, if there something you don’t do is, to mes with a Capricorn’s friend in front of them. Mama Bear Mode in nano seconds…’ [sic]
Sharing a photo of the actress looking furious as she wrapped a protective arm around Grande, another commented: ‘Cynthia Erivo is a 6x threat: Singer, Actress, Dancer, Writer, Model, BODYGUARD. As if I couldn’t possibly LOVE her more.’
The filmed incident, which was shared widely online, showed the man lunging at Grande and putting his arm around her, as she struggled to get away outside Singapore’s Universal Studios.
Way ahead of security, Erivo, who plays Elphaba in the film, jumped in between her friend and the man to try and block him while seemingly shouting something at him.
Moments later a group of security guards at the event then pulled him away, leaving a visibly shaken Grande being comforted by her co-star.
He was wearing a white T-shirt and shorts and had distinctive long black hair with dyed blue streaks.
He was quickly identified as notorious Australian red carpet crasher Johnson Wen, who is also known as Pyjama Man online.
Wen has shared videos after accosting other celebrities such as Katy Perry, The Weeknd and electronic duo The Chainsmokers in a similar manner during their gigs.
He later hared clips from the moment on his Instagram Story, writing: ‘Dear Ariana Grande Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You.’
Eerie videos taken before he jumped over a barricade to see Grande show him saying it is his ‘dream’ to meet the actress.
Standing underneath a poster of the actress in Wicked, he says: ‘I feel like I’m in a dream. That’s my best friend Ariana Grande and I’m going to meet her. I’ve been dreaming about that’, before doing a theatrical laugh.
Following the stunt, Wen claimed he was ‘free’ after Grande fans watched him being tackled to the ground by security.
