It’s still remarkable to think of how Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande – two women known for having tricky personalities – managed to get through a year-long production of two Wicked films, plus a months-long Wicked promotional tour, and there were no eruptions or fights or beefs or anything. Ari and Cynthia genuinely seem to get along and they match each other’s freak in a really funny and charming way. It’s been kind of joyful to watch two women – the leads of two huge musical productions – float along without any drama. So, obviously, now the first film is a huge hit, there’s a movement afoot to drive a wedge between Cynthia and Ari. For several days, a story has been circulating. A story about Ariana getting paid $15 million for Wicked, while Cynthia only got paid $1 million. Well, Universal has now stepped in to correct the record.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were paid the same salary for their work on Wicked.
“Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder. The women received equal pay for their work on Wicked,” a Universal spokesperson said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. Multiple sources familiar with the situation also told THR that the actresses were paid the same for their work on the movie musical from director Jon M. Chu.
Unsubstantiated rumors about Erivo and Grande’s salary surfaced this week on TikTok and Reddit, with social media users claiming Grande made $15 million for the film while Erivo earned $1 million. Multiple news outlets picked up the social media commentary, only adding to the firestorm.
While I would have believed that Ariana got paid more, the idea that anyone is paying Ari $15 million for her first major film role is insane. Anyone claiming that lacks all credibility. But I’m glad that Universal emphasized that they got paid the same – someone must have pointed that out during casting and contract negotiations too, that if Glinda and Elphaba were given wildly different paydays, it would eventually come out and make everyone look horrible.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 18: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo attend the “Wicked: Part One” UK Premiere at The Royal Festival Hall on November 18, 2024 in London, England. (,Image: 936053991, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Lounis Tiar / Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 18: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo attend the “Wicked: Part One” UK Premiere at The Royal Festival Hall on November 18, 2024 in London, England. (,Image: 936054021, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Lounis Tiar / Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 18: Ariana Grande attends the “Wicked: Part One” UK Premiere at The Royal Festival Hall on November 18, 2024 in London, England. (,Image: 936054097, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Lounis Tiar / Avalon
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- Celebrities attend the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Wicked’ at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California Featuring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 09 Nov 2024 Credit: Faye’s Vision/Cover Images
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- Celebrities attend the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Wicked’ at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California Featuring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 09 Nov 2024 Credit: PAPIX/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA, UK, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Celebrities attend the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Wicked’ at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California Featuring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 09 Nov 2024 Credit: PAPIX/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA, UK, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND RIGHTS ONLY**
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- UK premiere of ‘Wicked’ at the Royal Festival Hall Featuring: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Where: London, United Kingdom When: 18 Nov 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- UK premiere of ‘Wicked’ at the Royal Festival Hall Featuring: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Where: London, United Kingdom When: 18 Nov 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
This isnt the 90s ,do actors still get $15-20M paychecks? Unless you are a Marvel actor getting backend!
The Rock supposedly got paid 50mil for RedOne, which was a total flop
I saw that reel or tiktok or whatever and my immediate thought -beyond “They paid Ariana that much?” was that the backend deals were very different. Like maybe Ariana got a bigger upfront payday and maybe Cynthia got a bigger backend deal.
But either way I’m glad Universal corrected the issue so fast and isn’t letting it derail from Wicked’s success.
It’s preposterous to think Cynthia would accept a $1 million paycheck for a $300 million production.
oh I didn’t think she got a million. (this reel also said that Jonathan Bailey got 250k which seemed low to me) but that if there was a discrepancy in their paychecks, it was accounted for in the backend.
but like I said I’m glad Universal corrected the issue.
Especially because it took years to film! Although I do think a million is probably life changing money for a Broadway actress, and Ari acts like she might have paid THEM a million for the role, I think they probably made closer to 5 apiece.
I suspect they both have something that gives them profits on top of that salary. But glad that Universal cleared that up.
There was a thread on the hellsite about chenzel, which outlined how they tried to pit Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenowith against each other when the musical first came out and how these women were always shooting down that lie.
Glad they were paid the same, I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t have been.
So interesting to see rumors and media gossip trying to stir up trouble between them when there is none. Apparently women aren’t allowed to get along.
Always good to hear about women being well compensated for their work. Whatever went down on that set seems to have been extremely exhausting/draining, both of them look so tired and thin. They earned every penny.
Good. They were both spectacular. I loved Wicked and am going with family to see it again on Friday.
I admit I was ready to believe the worst of Universal because, well, 2024, but this is good news. Cynthia Erivo is incredible in this film.
Why do people keep saying Erivo is tricky as well? I don’t know her backstory like Ariana’s.
But nice to know they got paid the same. Ariana has an enormous fan base but Cynthia is technically the lead and is spectacularly talented. They both bring something to the table and their respective casting is definitely a huge of the film’s success.
I think the movie would have been a hit regardless of the actors. Wicked has a built in fan base.
I think it was from Cynthia clapping back at a fan on X-Twitter that took the movie poster and photoshopped it to look like the Broadway Poster. She took it as disrespect to her as her face was shaded out. Without realizing it was done in honor of the show and not meant in disrespect.
But she gave a very elegant response to her feelings about it.
All I have seen in their joint interviews is two women who truly are partners in this film. And I felt that come through in their characters on screen. They need to do 100 movies together.
I’m glad they straightened that out. Cynthia and Ariana seem like they have a really beautiful friendship. I think they really do, but even if they were just acting it, it’s lovely to see in the middle of the dumpster fire that is currently going on in the world. Stop trying to pit women against each other, whoever made that up.
The same director directed CRAZY RICH ASIANS which saw its sequel delayed and nearly derailed, while losing both original scriptwriters after a pay disparity scandal after it was revealed the white male co-writer of the first film made multiples upon multiples of what the Asian female co-writer was paid, a disparity that continued with the bumped up offers for the sequel.
When the studio refused to pay her what they were paying him even after it blew up, the male writer offered to even out their sequel salaries by giving her part of *his* salary to make them even. Seeing the studio’s opposition to even this — and firmly believing he shouldn’t take a pay cut, they should pay her the same as his original offer — she walked and he did shortly after, delaying the film.
No WAY would that director, who had both that and not one, but two, colorism scandals under his belt, allow that to happen on this film, and would have stood firm with the actors against any studio foolishness. I believe he learned from those past experiences.
Thank you for that insight, it’s one of the things I love about Wicked so much is that so many are represented in this film equally. It’s beautiful.