Cynthia Erivo is facing online attacks during the “Wicked: For Good” press tour, and SZA is not here for it. The R&B star is calling out the behavior as “classic misogynoir” and urging it to stop. On Friday (November 28), she reacted to an Instagram reel highlighting the “out of hand” treatment Erivo has received, agreeing with the content creator, thefilmdiva, who pointed out “underlying tones of racism” in the memes.

Some of the clips circulating online have turned Erivo into a skeleton, or shown men imitating her, including the viral moment when she shielded Ariana Grande after a fan rushed them in Singapore. SZA wrote, “Ur not bugging and no one is too woke ! It’s CLASSIC Misogynoir! NOTHING ELSE !!! can’t believe it’s openly a thing in 2025,” and 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 🤷🏾‍♀️.”

This is not the first time SZA has publicly defended Erivo. When Erivo was named one of British GQ's Men of the Year, SZA weighed in to push back against criticism. “I'm confused .. it's 2025,” she 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.”

Erivo addressed the Singapore incident on “TODAY,” sharing her perspective directly. “I was really thinking, 'I just wanted to make sure my friend was safe,' you know?” she 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.”

Per usual, SZA is putting a spotlight on the toxic patterns Black women face online. Her words call for accountability and make it clear that these attacks need to stop.