The truth behind Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande’s rumored Wicked salaries  

According to multiple reports, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were paid millions of dollars to star in Wicked, and one actress allegedly earned substantially more – but there’s something you should know.

Going by its first weekend in theaters, Wicked’s box office is poised to be enormous. It secured the biggest opening for a musical adaptation in US history, and with Thanksgiving audiences piling into cinemas over the coming days, don’t expect its ticket sales to slow down anytime soon.

While it’d be a stretch to call it a gamble (it’s based on one of the most successful stage productions of all time) it was still a major investment by Universal Pictures, reported to have spent $350 million on the first film and Wicked: Part 2.

This includes the paydays of its co-leads, Erivo (Elphaba) and Grande (Glinda), whose salaries were apparently rather different… according to some tenuous reports.

How much were Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo paid for Wicked?

While it’s been reported that Ariana Grande was paid $15 million and Cynthia Erivo was paid $1 million, this has been disputed by Universal Pictures.

“Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder,” a spokesperson said in a statement on November 26. “The women received equal pay for their work on Wicked.”

However, Universal did not specify the actual salaries earned by the stars.

It’s not hard to track down where the rumors started. This claim was shared in a TikTok posted by Brandon Benitez, which has been viewed over 820,000 times.

In the video, he alleged that Marissa Bode earned $250,000, Ethan Slater made $350,000, Jonathan Bailey was paid $450,000, and Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh made $2 million each.

Then came the really shocking part that riled fans up: while Erivo – who arguably plays the bigger lead – was allegedly paid $1 million, Grande received a massive $15 million payday.

By the looks of it, nobody actually knows how much they were paid. StyleCaster wrote an article about Erivo’s net worth (which was shared on Yahoo Entertainment) and cited Showbiz Galore’s breakdown of the Wicked cast’s salary published in February this year, which simply lists salaries without any sources to back them up.

Understandably, the rumored disparity between the two actresses’ salaries has split viewers across social media; many believe Erivo should be paid the same as Grande, while others have argued that Grande’s fanbase and guaranteed box office appeal warrant more money.

However, with Universal now disputing these rumors, it looks as though these concerns can be put to bed.

In the meantime, read more about Wicked’s one big problem, when to pee during the movie, and where you’ll be able to stream Wicked.