A Hollywood spokesperson has slammed online rumors about how much Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were each paid for the new Wicked film adaptation, in which they co-star as Elphaba and Glinda.
After Wicked made box office history last weekend, scoring the highest opening ever for a Broadway musical adaptation, rumors began swirling online that Ariana was paid more than her fellow lead.
The unsubstantiated reports — circulating mainly on sites like TikTok and Reddit — claimed that Ari was paid $15 million for the role while Cynthia only received $1 million.
Before long, numerous outlets published stories about the pay disparity reports, propelling the rumors to a much wider audience.
And now, a representative from Universal has shut down the chatter once and for all, clarifying that the two stars received the same pay for their work on the musical adaptation.
“Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder,” a spokesperson for the production company said on Tuesday in a statement provided to numerous outlets, including the Hollywood Reporter and Variety. “The women received equal pay for their work on Wicked.”
