Drew Barrymore tells Cynthia Erivo she's been told to 'back off' being 'touchy' with guests: 'People have to warn me'

Drew Barrymore and Cynthia Erivo understand that physical communication can be just as important as verbal. 

The Wicked actress, 37, explained on Tuesday’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show that she and costar Ariana Grande are always in close physical contact, even using it as a way to subtly deliver messages to each other during conversations. 

“Is it true that [Grande] is as touchy? I'm so touchy,” Barrymore confessed. “People have to warn me, they're like, ‘Back off a little bit.’ And I’m like, ‘Why?’”

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Barrymore has been both praised and criticized by viewers for her up close and personal interview style, which often sees her hugging and holding hands with guests. The 49-year-old has since admitted that she is working on her “proximity” and trying to maintain a good amount of “physical distance” from guests on her show's current fifth season.

Erivo, however, was completely fine with Barrymore wanting to reach out, holding hands with the host throughout their conversation. “I’m the welcoming Capricorn,” she joked. “It's like, ‘I love you. You can touch.’” 

In fact, Erivo noted that she’s become accustomed to being attached to Grande in some way, shape, or form after all the time they've spent filming Wicked and on its subsequent press tour. “If [we're] not connected, I'm like, ‘What's wrong? What's happening? Where are you?’ You know what I mean?” Erivo asked. “We walk hand-in-hand very often. Like, if we're not walking hand-in-hand, we'll find each other somewhere.”

That sounded like a dream to Barrymore. “That’s how I want life to be,” she said. “Because physical connection… I'm single. I'm not dating anyone. I don't have that in my life, but I don't know how I would ever hold back from holding hands, hugging, snuggling.”

Erivo explained that she believes it’s because people let fear get in the way. “I think we get a bit afraid of physical connection,” she remarked. “I think we assume that physical connection can only be romantic.”

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In actuality, Erivo continued, reaching out can be a simple, silent way of communicating how you’re feeling at a given moment. “Sometimes you can't say anything and you're in a room and… it's just a squeeze of the hand,” she said. “And that's sometimes how [Grande] and I communicate, we might be talking to someone, or I might need to communicate something to her and it's just a squeeze of the hand or just a pinch of a finger, or a hug.”

She added, “However we need to communicate, it's how we need to communicate. And I think we don't give enough credit to how we communicate with our friends physically.”

Consider Barrymore fully onboard. “I think if we could all be more comfortable with physical touch, I would like that world,” she concluded.

Wicked is in theaters now. The Drew Barrymore Show airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings.

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