NEED TO KNOW
Nearly a month after Cynthia Erivo’s memoir was published, fans are pointing out that a few lines bear a striking resemblance to quotes from her Wicked costar, Ariana Grande.
The actress’s memoir, Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much, arrived on bookshelves on Nov 18 missing a “chapter introduction,” according to her publisher.
As first reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday, Dec. 3, one longtime Wicked fan, Cassie Plumridge, noticed something strange when she got to Chapter 42 in the new book.
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According to the outlet, the book contains a passage with wording familiar to Plumridge and many fans of Erivo and her Wicked costars, whose second Wicked film premiered in theaters on Nov. 21.
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“I’ve been a specimen in a petri dish since I was a teenager. I’ve heard it all, every version of what’s wrong with me. And when I fix it, then it’s wrong for different reasons. Maybe you’ve felt the same?” a passage in the book reads, per the outlet.
“If you go to Thanksgiving dinner and someone’s granny says, Oh, my god, you look skinnier, what’s wrong? Or someone else says, You look heavier, what happened? That is uncomfortable and horrible no matter where it’s happening,” the passage continues, per the outlet, going on to say, “This ease in making remarks is really dangerous for all parties involved.”
Flatiron Books
Words similar to those were first said by Ariana Grande in December 2024, in an interview with French content creator and journalist Sally, alongside Erivo.
“I’ve been a specimen in a petri dish really since I was 16 or 17, so I have heard it all. I’ve heard every version of it, of what’s wrong with me, and then you fix it, and then it’s wrong for different reasons,” Grande says in the interview, available to watch on YouTube.
She goes on to say that “it’s hard to protect yourself from that noise. I think it’s something that is uncomfortable, no matter what scale you’re experiencing it on.”
“Even if you go to Thanksgiving dinner and someone’s granny says, ‘Oh my god, you look skinnier, what happened?’ or, ‘You look heavier, what happened?’ It’s like — that is something that is uncomfortable and horrible no matter where it’s happening, no matter the scale it’s happening on,” continues Grande, noting that commenting on others’ bodies was dangerous “for all parties involved.”
In a statement shared with The Washington Post, Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan, said it had mistakenly omitted the attribution to Grande.
“A chapter introduction, which included correct attribution, was inadvertently left out of the book. We have immediately updated the file to the corrected version, which will be used going forward in all formats including all future printings of the physical book,” a representative said in a statement, per the outlet.
“We are deeply apologetic for this oversight and thankful that we are able to correct it,” the statement continued, per the outlet.
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PEOPLE has reached out to Flatiron Books and Macmillan for comment.
