This topic arose when she inquired of Erivo whether Grande shares her penchant for touchiness.
Erivo noted that she is accustomed to Grande’s physical expressions of affection, mentioning that it feels odd when they aren’t close enough to touch.
She remarked, “If it’s not, like, connected, I’m like, ‘what’s wrong? What’s happening? Where are you?’ We walk hand in hand very often.
“Like, if we’re not walking hand in hand, we’ll find each other somewhere.”
The acclaimed West End performer continued by saying that some individuals might shy away from physical connection, mistakenly perceiving it as purely romantic.
She elaborated that Grande often uses touch as a means of communication, through gestures like a ‘squeeze of a hand’, a hug, or ‘a pinch of the finger’.
“However we need to communicate is how we need to communicate”, Erivo elaborated, “And I think we don’t give enough credit to how we need to communicate with our friends physically.”
The Charlie’s Angels star, who has won multiple awards, echoed this sentiment, warmly embracing Erivo and expressing a desire for people to feel ‘more comfortable with physical touch’.
Nonetheless, Barrymore acknowledged that her fondness for physical contact has occasionally met with resistance from some visitors on her show.
She admitted, “I’m so touchy! People have to warn me,
“They’re like, ‘back off a little bit’. I’m like, ‘why?’”
Barrymore went on to mention to Erivo, “I was just hugging you just now and I thought, ‘I am so lucky to embrace and actually physically be near someone who is breaking records’”, referencing the Universal Studios film’s achievement as the highest-grossing adaptation of a Broadway musical.
This isn’t the first instance where Barrymore’s tendency to be hands-on has drawn attention, as she previously faced scrutiny when Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart appeared on her show.
While Stewart subtly created some space between herself and the host on the couch, Winfrey came to Barrymore’s defense when she was accused of making guests feel ‘uncomfortable’.
Earlier this year, the former child actress conveyed to Entertainment Tonight that she enjoys being in the company of others and found the pandemic’s social distancing measures challenging.