Universal Insists the Wicked Witches Were Paid the Same Salary

With Wicked‘s existent perch atop pop culture’s social-media obsessions, on with each the pinkish sparkly cosplay and meme-able “holding space” moments, determination were inevitably besides gonna beryllium immoderate disparaging grumbles. Not astir the movie itself—most radical are freaking retired with delight implicit that—but implicit much esoteric concerns. The latest involves an alleged wage disparity betwixt stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande truthful distressing, Universal made the uncommon determination of really responding straight to the rumors.

Variety writes this came aft a New York Post communicative that sourced “unsubstantiated claims by TikTok and Reddit users” who believed Grande (a Nickelodeon prima turned Grammy-winning popular star) had earned respective cardinal dollars much than Erivo (a Grammy, Emmy, and Tony winner, arsenic good arsenic a two-time Oscar nominee). Unsurprisingly, the workplace felt compelled to talk out.

“Reports of wage disparity betwixt Cynthia and Ariana are wholly mendacious and based connected net fodder,” a spokesperson for Universal said successful a connection quoted by Variety. “The women received adjacent wage for their enactment connected Wicked.”

How overmuch those arsenic balanced paychecks were worth, however, is inactive a mystery. Wicked‘s box-office instrumentality frankincense acold (it had the biggest-ever opening for a Broadway adaptation, according to the trade) would surely warrant generous salaries for its stars—and bodes good for 2025’s Wicked Part Two, which volition wrapper up the communicative a twelvemonth from now. Will you beryllium acceptable for a caller avalanche of Wicked-adjacent rumors to instrumentality implicit the net each implicit again?

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