Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo Throw Water on Pay Disparity Rumors
“We both went through it—‘What number are we doing? How do you feel about that?’" Erivo told Variety.
Photo: Getty Images CelebritiesEntertainmentMoviesNotable/Quotable,
Between all the viral moments and memes now enshrined in the pop culture pantheon, one would expect the Wicked discourse to have withered by now. After all, it’s been well over a month since the blockbuster’s release. And yet, along the yellow brick road to the Oscars, it remains ripe for further dissection.
This month, its stars and director covered Variety and addressed at least two of the promotion cycle’s most persistent rumors: that Grande and Erivo were paid vastly different sums, and Grande’s apparent voice change.
When the film premiered in November, a number of unverified social media reports claimed Grande was paid as much as $15 million for her role as Glinda, while Erivo received just $1 million for portraying Elphaba. At the time, the film’s distributor, Universal Pictures, flat-out denied the rumor. Now, Grande and Erivo have put a stop to any further speculation. Both stars claimed they determined their salaries in tandem.
“We went through our contracts together and called each other up,” Grande told Variety during the sit-down. “‘Did you see that? What do you think about that? Let’s get it together!’”