Yahoo Lifestyle The Surprising Way Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Stood Up for Each Other BTS
Like Elphaba and Glinda, Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are sticking together through the media blitz that is awards season, and they’re revealing some interesting BTS tidbits along the way. While participating in the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversation series, Ariana revealed that she and Cynthia compared contracts before signing on the dotted line.
“When I got my contract, I called her, and was like, ‘Hey, let’s go through this thing. Let’s go beat by beat through this together and make sure we are aligned in what we need,’” Ariana explained to moderator Jessica Shaw. It seems the two went the Friends cast route, banding together to help each other get the best deal possible.
She continued, “If Cynthia needs something, we need it together. I want us to have each other’s backs. Your problems become my problems and mine become yours.”
Last month, it began circulating that Ariana had been paid $15 million for the film, while Cynthia had only earned $1 million. The rumor gained so much steam that Universal was prompted to respond, denying reports in a statement: “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.”
What that equal pay was exactly has not been confirmed, but it seems—based on Ariana's comments—that she and Cynthia were on the same page from the start.
In fact, Ariana gushed about their bond during the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations series, explaining that, while the two never got to audition together, they were quick to connect after booking the jobs.
“We got to start building that trust and that relationship long before we even got to our first day on set because we were cast in 2021 and there was a lot of waiting before we got to London,” she said, adding, “We talk a lot about this pact that we made to take care of each other and to be really honest with each other about anything that were to come up, but I don’t think people get how granular we got.”
The actor, who just earned her first Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Wicked, added that their bond is “one of the things I’m most proud of.”
And while she made clear that their relationship went far beyond the TikToks and press junket interviews, I for one would like Wicked Part 2—um, I mean, Wicked: For Good—to be released ASAP so we can get another round of Cynthia and Ariana’s Ozian red carpet fashion.
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