Yahoo Lifestyle A Spokesperson For Universal Slammed The “Completely False” Rumors That Ariana Grande Was Paid More Than Cynthia Erivo For “Wicked”
A Hollywood spokesperson has slammed online rumors about how much Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were each paid for the new Wicked film adaptation, in which they costar as Elphaba and Glinda.
After Wicked made box office history last weekend, scoring the highest opening ever for a Broadway musical adaptation, rumors began swirling online that Ariana was paid more than her fellow lead.
The unsubstantiated reports — circulating mainly on sites like TikTok and Reddit — claimed that Ari was paid $15 million for the role while Cynthia only received $1 million.
Although Ariana may be more globally known for her music career, Cynthia is one of Hollywood's most acclaimed actors and singers. She is twice Oscar-nominated and has previously won a Tony, an Emmy, and a Grammy — putting her only one Oscar away from joining the highly coveted EGOT club.
Before long, numerous outlets published stories about the pay disparity reports, propelling the rumors to a much wider audience.
And now, a representative from Universal has shut down the chatter once and for all, clarifying that the two stars received the same pay for their work on the musical adaptation.
In April 2022, director Jon M. Chu announced that his Wicked film adaptation would be split into two movies, which were shot simultaneously. Wicked: Part Two is scheduled to be released a year from now, in November 2025.
“Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder,” a spokesperson for the production company said on Tuesday in a statement provided to numerous outlets, including the Hollywood Reporter and Variety. “The women received equal pay for their work on Wicked.”
According to Variety, the studio declined to specify how much the actors were paid. However, other anonymous insiders who spoke to the Hollywood Reporter supported the claim that their earnings were equal.
Well, there you have it.
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