Ariana Grande was paid 15 times more than Cynthia Erivo for her role in "Wicked"

Question

According to a leaked salary list of the actors from the new hit musical-movie adaptation "Wicked", Ariana Grande was paid $15 million for her supporting role, while Cynthia Erivo, the star, was only paid $1 million.

Comments

The claim that Ariana Grande was paid 15 times more than Cynthia Erivo for their roles in "Wicked" is unfounded. A Universal Pictures spokesperson stated, "Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder. The women received equal pay for their work on 'Wicked.'" (People, 2024).
This clarification addresses rumors that Grande earned $15 million while Erivo received $1 million. Such claims have been debunked by official sources, confirming that both actresses received equal compensation for their roles. (Screen Rant, 2024)

In summary, the assertion of a significant pay disparity between Grande and Erivo in "Wicked" is inaccurate, as both were paid equally for their performances.

https://people.com/ariana-grande-cynthia-erivo-equal-pay-for-wicked-roles-8752249?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://screenrant.com/wicked-movie-ariana-grande-cynthia-erivo-salary-pay-dispute-explained-universal-response/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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I agree with this claim, Mirror is an unreliable source. Hello Magazine, a well known and respected source also debunked that this claim is false. The same quote from People, was also used in their article.

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The sources used in the post may not have been trustworthy. Many sources including CNN and People have debunked the rumor proving that is it is false and both actors were paid appropriately.

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People cam out with an article that proved this rumor to not be true. They said that Ariana and Cynthia got paid the same amount of money for this movie. The actors pay was never disclosed to the cast or to the public. These were just rumors that fans spread around.

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The claim that Ariana Grande was paid 15 times more than Cynthia Erivo for Wicked is unverified. The source of the claim, The Mirror, has not provided credible evidence to back up the salary figures, and no reputable entertainment outlets have confirmed them. As such, this claim should be regarded with skepticism until more reliable sources come forward.

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This was a great response, and was easily understandable. You also mentioned clear sources debunking the information, which clearly debunks the misinformation being spread. The difference between 15-1 ratio vs equally paid is quite a significantly different number, so this was important work!

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This factcheck is very effective and thorough, they disprove the original claim which was made using information from a gossip site as a source. I really appreciate that they use more than one source and also pull direct quotes from people who are high up in the company and heavily involved in the financial situation which is being discussed.

Answer 1

This rumor has been spread like wildfire, as many sources have disproved this. According to CNN Entertainment, “Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder,” a spokesperson for Universal said in a statement shared with several outlets. “The women received equal pay for their work on ‘Wicked.’” There are many websites that will disprove this, as even the Universal cast made a statement disagreeing with this. 

source: https://variety.com/2024/film/news/ariana-grande-cynthia-erivo-wicked-equal-pay-1236223851/ 

Answer 2

This claim that Ariana Grande was paid $15 million and her co-star Cynthia Erivo was paid only $1 million is false. A forbes article about this topic shows the statement from a spokesperson at universial saying, "“The women received equal pay for their work on Wicked.”"

Though the amount both staring actresses were paid was not released, Forbes highlighted that "Universal Pictures has revealed that women were paid an average of 6.6% more than men on the crew of Wicked." Which is an interesting insight.

The original claims of this pay gap were founded on Reddit and Tikok, which are known to be two sites where misinformation is spread.

Articles:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinereid/2024/12/02/wickeds-spellbinding-pay-packets-revealed/

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/ariana-grande-cynthia-erivo-wicked-equal-pay-1236223851/

Answer 3

The claim that Ariana Grande was paid 15 million more than Cynthia Erivo is false. There are no specific documents stating what they were paid, however, the assumption that the pay gap was that drastic is incorrect. This statement went viral on X when someone posted a leaked "salary list," which can easily be fabricated. The studio told CNN that this is not true, "false and based on internet fodder." There are no sources validating this claim, only news sources shutting it down. Therefore, we have reason to believe that this claim is not true.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/27/entertainment/cynthia-erivo-ariana-grande-wicked-pay/index.html

https://people.com/ariana-grande-cynthia-erivo-equal-pay-for-wicked-roles-8752249

Answer 4

This claim is false. Rumors speculated on social media platforms such as TikTok and Twitter/X of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's pay disparity due to Ariana's star presence in the music industry and racial discrimination. But a spokesperson from Universal released a statement disproving the gap, saying that they recieved equal pay for their work in Wicked. 

Variety/Universal Statement