Ariana Grande forced to cancel ‘Wicked For Good’ world premiere in Brazil

Hollywood actress-singer Ariana Grande had to miss the world premiere of Jon M. Chu’s anticipated musical fantasy sequel ‘Wicked For Good’ in Brazil.

She was forced to cancel her trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil after a last-minute aircraft safety issue grounded her flight, reports ‘Variety’.

"Brazil, I can’t believe this is happening and I am beyond devastated to be sending this message”, she wrote in an emotional Instagram post addressed to her fans on Tuesday morning (Pacific Standard Time).

"A few hours ago, my team and I had to deplane our flight, as they had to do maintenance on the plane due to a safety issue and it will not be taking off until 1:00 am tomorrow”, she added.

As per ‘Variety’, Grande, who plays Glinda in Universal’s ‘Wicked’ film adaptation opposite Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, said there was no possible way to make it to the premiere in time despite efforts made by her team and the studio.

My team and Universal have tried every single thing possible to fix this”, she explained. "We’ve searched every other flight, overnight, early morning, connecting flights, commercial and also private options and absolutely nothing was available or possible that would get us there in time. Even in attempting a private option, there is a permit necessary in order to fly from here that takes time to attain”.

The premiere would have marked Grande’s first in-person appearance in the country in several years.

"I am so heartbroken that I’m unable to be there with you all. We sincerely tried everything we could and I apologize from the bottom of my heart”, she said before urging fans to "shower my incredible castmates with all of the love that I wish I could be showering you with and have the most beautiful celebration”.

In a follow-up post, Grande asked her followers to "not wish danger on us or assume that we didn’t try” to get to the premiere.

She wrote, "Please don’t wish danger on us. We did everything we could and I promise you no one is more upset than I am. I promise no matter how upset or disappointed you are, please please do not wish danger on us or assume that we didn’t try”.

"There was no other time for me to leave and these plans have been booked for months. I wrapped another film on the 31st and I worked all day the 1st and the 2nd as well, just the same as Jonny, Cyn and Jon have been working, we all were scheduled to leave the same day”, she added.

Indo-Asian News Service