Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Were ‘Really F—ing Honest’ About Their ‘Wicked’ Pay and Contracts

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were equal partners for Wicked, both in front of and behind the camera.

The actresses opened up about working together to establish equal salaries while filming the two-part movie musical in a joint interview with Variety published on Thursday, January 2. “We went through our contracts together and called each other up,” Grande, 31, shared. “[We were like,] ‘Did you see that? What do you think about that? Let’s get together.’”

Erivo, 37, added: “We both went through it — ‘What number are we doing? How do you feel about that?’ We were really f—ing honest. And that’s really rare. People don’t do that.”

Noting that she and Erivo are “very different,” Grande told the outlet that “her needs [became] my needs” while working on the project. Erivo reiterated her words, stating: “And her needs become mine.”

Shortly after the film’s November 2024 theatrical release, false reports spread online that Grande was paid millions more for her role as Glinda than Erivo for her role as Elphaba.

“Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder,” a spokesperson for Universal Pictures told Us Weekly in a statement at the time. “The women received equal pay for their work on Wicked.”

A source close to Grande also told Us that the rumors “started on Reddit” and were “completely not true.”

Director Jon M. Chu praised the women’s equal pay negotiations in Thursday’s Variety interview. “This is a modern production,” he stated. “This is what Hollywood should reflect. These are co-CEOs of ‘Wicked Inc.’”

Based on the Broadway musical and 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire, Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, a.k.a. Glinda the Good Witch, before and during the events of The Wizard of Oz. The plot follows the two women as their relationship develops from rival roommates to best friends to unlikely rivals amid the backdrop of societal turmoil in Oz.

Grande and Erivo’s decision to share salaries and contracts comes as no surprise to fans of Wicked — which hit theaters in November 2024 — as the pair share a strong friendship on and off the big screen. The two have even gone viral for getting emotional in several of their press tour interviews.

“I feel so grateful and proud of how present we’ve been able to be,” Grande told Variety of her and Erivo shedding tears in interviews. “A lot of people have come up to us and been like, ‘How you holding up?’ with a long face. And we’ve just peeked at each other and been like, we’re grateful and floating.”

Erivo went on to add: “We have a good time.”

Wicked is in theaters now and is available to rent and purchase on digital platforms. The sequel, titled Wicked: For Good, will hit theaters on November 21.