Representatives for Cynthia Erivo's book publisher have apologised for "inadvertently" failing to attribute a quote to Ariana Grande.
The Wicked actress released her memoir, Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They're Too Much, in mid-November during her and her co-star Ariana's global press tour for the sequel Wicked: For Good.
Earlier this week, an eagle-eyed fan posted a picture of two pages from Chapter 42 of the book and noted that parts of the passage were "practically verbatim" to what Ariana said in a joint interview with Cynthia in December 2024.
"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.
"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."
In the 2024 interview with French content creator and journalist Sally, Ariana said, "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."
The passage about Thanksgiving was identical, as was the line "we can protect ourselves from that noise, whether it's at a family reunion or online", and "no one has the right to say s**t," which is also the title of the chapter.
Those pages do not feature an attribution to Ariana or any indication that it's a quote, making it appear like it was written by Cynthia.
When asked to address the claim by The Washington Post, a spokesperson for Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan, admitted that the book was missing a chapter introduction.
"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," the rep told the publication. "We are deeply apologetic for this oversight and thankful that we are able to correct it."
Cynthia and Ariana have yet to comment on the error.
