Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s rumored salaries on Wicked go viral due to massive salary disparity between stars

On November 26, 2024By Littum

The rumored salaries of each Wicked cast member have gone viral on social media.

The alleged list shocked fans because of the massive pay gap between the lead stars, Cynthia Erivo, 37, who plays Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande, 31, who stars as Glinda the Good Witch.

Although the numbers have not been confirmed and it is unclear who shared the list first, many people are commenting on the reports and sharing their thoughts.

In the alleged salary report, the musical’s leading star, Cynthia was reportedly paid $1 million, while supporting actress Ariana earns over ten times the same amount.

The pop sensation is reportedly being paid $15 million for her part in the musical adaptation — which broke opening weekend records for all Broadway movies.

Meanwhile, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum, who play Madame Morrible and the Wizard respectively, earn $2 million each.

The rumored salaries of each Wicked cast member have gone viral on social media, shocking fans with a massive pay gap between leads Ariana Grande, 31, and Cynthia Erivo, 37

As for the rest of the main cast, the list claimed that Jonathan Bailey, also known for playing Prince Fiyero, reportedly earns just under half a million.

His salary is rumored to be $450,000, while Ethan Slater, who plays Boq and met his now-girlfriend Grande while working on the film, reportedly earns $350,000.

Marissa Bode and Bowen Yang’s reported salaries are $250,000 each, according to the rumored list.

In response to the rumored leaked list, fans are sharing their thoughts and there seems to be a general consensus in the reaction to the rumored list.

A particular tweet on X has received over 11 million views and has received almost 120,000 likes.

The tweet read: ‘Ariana getting over $10 million more than Cynthia doesn’t suit me…’

“It doesn’t make sense,” wrote another commenter.

Yet another person called the rumored pay gap ‘diabolical’. Another deemed it “unfair”.

However, there were those who defended the rumored rift, saying Ariana was objectively the more famous star, writing: “Actors’ salaries are not based on talent, but on people coming to see the movie because of them .”

In response, an X user attempted to clear up the allegations with another rumor report. “So to clear this up, Ariana allegedly split her 15 million with Cynthia so Cynthia would get more than her 2 million (sic) salary,” the X user tweeted.

Although the numbers have not been confirmed and it is unclear who shared the list first, many people are commenting on the reports and sharing their thoughts; depicted in film still

In the alleged salary report, the musical’s leading star, Cynthia, was reportedly paid $1 million, while supporting actress Ariana earns over ten times the same amount; depicted in film still

Meanwhile, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum, who play Madame Morrible and the Wizard respectively, reportedly earn $2 million each; pictured from left to right: Jeff, Jonathan Bailey, Cynthia, Ariana and Michelle in London

As for the rest of the main cast, the listing claimed that Jonathan Bailey, also known for playing Prince Fiyero, reportedly earns just under half a million; photo left to right: Ethan Slater, Jeff, Marissa Bode, Michelle, Cynthia, Ariana, Jonathan and Bronwyn James in LA

In response to the rumored leaked list, fans are sharing their surprise. A particular tweet on X has received over 11 million views and has received almost 120,000 likes

“Doesn’t make sense,” wrote another commenter

Another person called the rumored pay gap ‘diabolical’

Another called it ‘unfair’

However, there were those who defended the rumored rift, saying that Ariana was objectively the more famous star

There were also a number of Wicked fans who shared the opinion that Grande was already expected to earn more than Erivo as she would get more viewers with her massive fan base

In response, an X user attempted to clear up the allegations with another rumor report

“Additionally, Jon is notorious for rewarding his actors/actresses if a film does well,” they wrote, referring to director Jon M. Chu. ‘So they can both receive extra pay depending on how big Wicked gets.’

Meanwhile, there were also a number of Wicked fans who shared the view that Grande was already expected to earn more than Erivo as she would bring in more viewers with her massive fan base.

“You guys always kill me when they discuss this topic,” tweeted another X user. ‘Why on earth would they get the same??? They don’t bring the same amount of people into the theater…’

The rumored salary figures come after it was revealed that Wicked earned around $114 million at the US box office in its first weekend of release – marking the biggest debut for a musical adaptation in history.

In terms of budget, Wicked topped out at around $300 million with each of the two installments averaging a budget of $150 million dollars, according to a Variety report.