After Universal disparaged rumors of unequal pay between “Wicked” stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, Grande has expanded on just how far she and her co-star went to ensure fairness was upheld between them.
While speaking at a SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversation, the 31-year-old Grammy winner said when she received her contract for “Wicked,” she called up Erivo to go through it “beat by beat” to ensure their needs were “aligned” going into filming.
“When I got my contract, I called [Erivo], 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,’” Grande said. “If [Erivo needs] something, we need it together. I want us to have each other’s backs. Your problems become my problems and mine become yours.”
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Grande went on to explain just how “granular” her connection with Erivo was even before production began, adding that “any press tour” or “short little TikTok” could not accurately capture the breadth of their friendship.
“It’s impossible to really share the depths of how real that is. We started creating that long before we ever got to set,” Grande said. “I think it was a really important part of the work that we did. I’m really grateful because one of the things that I’m most proud of is how we nurtured each other.”
After opening Nov. 22, the highly anticipated Broadway to big screen adaptation has amassed a staggering $472,042,574 worldwide gross, the ninth highest of 2024. The “Wizard of Oz” prequel follows Erivo’s Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West) and Grande’s Glinda (The Good), who were close friends and schoolmates before the arrival of Dorothy and Toto.