Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's rumored 'Wicked' salaries spark debate over massive pay gap

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A list of the 'Wicked' movie cast's alleged salaries went viral on social media due to a purported pay disparity between the lead actors, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

One viral tweet has received thousands of comments and over 14 million views as of this writing, with the caption: "Ariana getting paid over $10M more than Cynthia doesn’t sit right with me…"

Though many people have commented on the reports on TikTok and Twitter, it is important to note that there is no verified source for these numbers and it's unclear who shared them initially, per Daily Mail.

Ariana Grande allegedly received 15x amount of money that Cynthia Erivo was paid

Fans were shocked by the alleged list due to the huge pay gap between the main cast members, Ariana Grande, 31, who plays Glinda the Good Witch, and Cynthia Erivo, 37, who plays Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.

According to the alleged salary report, Cynthia, the lead actress in the musical film, received $1 million, while Ariana, the supporting actress, received more than ten times that amount.

According to reports, the pop sensation received $15 million for her role in the musical film adaptation, which set a record for the highest opening weekend receipts of any Broadway production.

Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh, who play the Wizard and Madame Morrible, respectively, are said to have earned $2 million each.

The list claimed that Jonathan Bailey, who plays Prince Fiyero, made slightly less than half a million dollars, while the other main cast members earned more than half a million.

Bailey is rumored to be paid $450,000, while Ethan Slater, who plays Boq and met his current singer girlfriend during filming, has been reported paid $350,000.

According to the rumored list, Marissa Bode and Bowen Yang received $250,000 each. Fans have voiced their opinions in response to the rumored list that was leaked, and there seems to be a broad consensus.

The leaked salary figures follow the announcement that 'Wicked' made at least $114 million in its first weekend of release in the United States, the highest opening for a musical adaptation ever.

According to a Variety report, the total budget for 'Wicked' was approximately $300 million, with an average budget of $150 million for each of the two parts.

Fans in disbelief over 'insane' pay gaps in Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's 'Wicked' salaries

The majority of social media fans believed Ariana Grande probably earned more than Cynthia Erivo, but they were convinced that the big pay gap does not 'make sense.'

Some, however, believed that Ariana's star power caused her to eventually earn more money than her co-star.

One online user wrote on Reddit, "These are completely made up. The source of these “rumors” made the typo of saying Cynthia got 2 million- but in the list saying she made 1 million. Either way, it’s all fake."

Another said, "I can believe Ari getting paid a little more than everyone else but not 13 million more."

"These look very incorrect not to mention saying a black leading actress who’s an Oscar nominee was paid a 1/15 of her white costar seems absolutely insane to me," added one.

One noted, "Ari and Cynthia should equally be compensated. Equal amounts of work should be what's considered. Ari wanted the role, she doesn't need the money."

One X (formerly Twitter) user said, "So Ariana is getting paid $15 mil while Cynthia gets $1 mil and she was the main character?! It’s not making sense."

A second X user said, "Ariana getting paid $15m and Cynthia getting paid $1m is diabolical."

"Cynthia was paid $1M for her role in Wicked. Ariana paid $15M. This is why they hire overseas," remarked another.

Another said, "Weird... it's a if Ariana is 100 times mor e popular than that other woman, who's name I, as many others, hear for the first time."

"Pay discrepancy between cynthia erivo and ariana grande for wicked is quite literally insane," chimed in one.

One exclaimed, "Cynthia got paid ONLY 1 million??? As a main character in a MUSICAL where she has to also advertise it a ton, that's insane."

Another said, "Well Ariana is one of the biggest celebrities on the planet sooo I would assume she would be getting paid top dollar"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.