Universal Pictures quickly debunked the rumor that Ariana Grande received a bigger cut for her starring role in Wicked compared to her co-star Cynthia Erivo after a rumor she did sparked outrage.
A recent report shared online claimed that Ariana was paid $15 million to play Wickeds lead character Glinda the Good Witch in the two-part musical. Meanwhile, Cynthia was said to have only got one million dollars to play Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Not taking kindly to the falsity, Universal Pictures came out on Tuesday to shut down the rumor of a gross pay discrepancy of $14 between Ariana and Cynthia.
Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder, a spokesperson for Universal Pictures revealed to the Hollywood Reporter in a statement.
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The women received equal pay for their work on Wicked, they continued. While the film studio clarified that each woman got paid the same amount, they didnt share exactly how much Ariana and Cynthia were paid respectively to appear in Wicked.
Not only was it reported that Ariana made more than Cynthia, but it was also reported that the pop star made the most among the entire Wicked cast. Even though she had less screen time than Cynthia.
Many additional supports also claimed that Cynthia earned less than some of her co-stars who had smaller roles such as Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum. They reportedly were paid $2 million each to play Madame Morrible and the Wizard of Oz, respectively. Meanwhile, Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey reportedly received the shortest end of the stick, as he was rumored to only earn $450,000 to play the love interest Fiyero.
Wicked has been out for less than a week and is almost a smash hit, grossing over $162 million worldwide within its first five days of being in theaters. It earned $114 million in the opening weekend in America, making it the biggest box office debut for a musical adaptation in history.
Wickeds part two follow-up will feature the same cast, and premiere on November 21, 2025. Ariana and Cynthia were both cast for the lead roles in 2021 after a lengthy auditioning process.
I felt a little bit of the initial nervousness or the sort of preconceived notions about what I might be able to deliver or not deliver, or why I would be wrong or whatever, Ariana said about portraying Glinda in a recent interview.
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