No, Ariana Grande Was Not Paid 15 Times More Than Cynthia Erivo for Wicked: Studio Clears Up Pay Disparity Rumor

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo received the same paydays for Wicked, the studio clarified after rumors of a large pay gap spread online.

“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 spokesperson for Universal said in a Nov. 26 statement shared by The Hollywood Reporter.

The studio’s message came after now-debunked reports made the rounds online claiming Grande was paid $15 million to play Glinda while Erivo got $1 million to play Elphaba. The studio did not reveal exact amounts paid to the cast members.

Grande, who brings with her a built-in fan base from her music career and a whopping 376 million Instagram followers, and Erivo, a twice-Oscar-nominated star with a Tony win, have both received stellar praise for their performances in the film.

Prior to casting Grande and Erivo as the leads in the Wizard of Oz prequel films, director Jon M. Chu considered going for “no-namers” instead.

“I wanted to have a very clear slate coming into Wicked,” said Chu, 45. “It’s a big enough property on its own, so we can discover two people. I was like, ‘We’re gonna find no-namers.’ “

“But then we got calls from all these great actresses who wanted to audition and we saw everybody, and they were all really great,” he added. “Anyone could have done this role, except there were two people who were meant to do this role, for this particular movie at this particular time.”

While promoting the movie in recent weeks, Erivo and Grande have praised the strong bond they formed while filming the movies. (They even got matching tattoos to commemorate the shared experience.)

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“I think that was one of my most cherished parts of this experience: I felt held and like I had a friend every step of the way,” Grande told The New York Times of her friendship with Erivo. “I’m really proud of us for how genuinely we took care of each other throughout this whole time.”

Added Erivo, “I’m glad it was us.”

Wicked broke box office records for the biggest opening weekend for a Broadway-to-film adaptation as it debuted at No. 1 ahead of Thanksgiving. The sequel, part two of the story, is in theaters November 2025.

The movie musical’s cast also features Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Dinklage, Bowen Yang and Marissa Bode.

Wicked is in theaters now.