Rumors about Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s salaries in Wicked go viral due to the huge salary gap between the stars

Rumors about each Wicked cast member’s salaries have gone viral on social media.

The alleged list shocked fans due to the huge pay gap between the main stars, Cynthia Erivo, 37, who plays Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande, 31, who plays 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 purported salary report, the musical film’s lead star, Cynthia, reportedly received $1 million while supporting actress Ariana reportedly earned more than ten times the same amount.

The pop sensation reportedly received $15 million for her role in the musical film adaptation – which broke records in its opening weekend for all Broadway films.

However, a Universal spokesperson denied the claims in a statement released Tuesday.

“Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo received equal pay on WICKED,” a Universal spokesperson said, adding, “reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on the Internet.”

Meanwhile, other rumors suggested that Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum, who play Madame Morrible and the Wizard respectively, earned $2 million each.

As for the rest of the main actors, the list claimed that Jonathan Bailey, also known for playing Prince Fiyero, would earn just under half a million.

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

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

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

One particular tweet about X garnered over 11 million views and received almost 120,000 likes.

The tweet read: “Ariana gets paid over $10 million more than Cynthia doesn’t suit me…”

“This makes no sense,” another commenter wrote.

Another person called the pay gap rumor “evil.” Someone else called it “unfair.”

However, some defended the rumor that Ariana was objectively the more famous star, writing: “Actors’ salaries are not based on talent but on the people who will come to see the film because of them.”

In response, an X user tried to clarify the allegations with another rumor. “So to clear things up, Ariana would have split her 15 million with Cynthia so that Cynthia would receive more than her 2 million (sic) salary,” the X user tweeted.

“Also, Jon is known for rewarding his actors/actresses if a film does well,” they wrote, referring to director Jon M. Chu. “So they could both receive additional salary depending on the size of Wicked.”

Meanwhile, many Wicked fans shared the opinion that Grande must already earn more than Erivo, as she would attract more viewers thanks to her huge fan base.

“You always kill me when you discuss this topic,” tweeted another X user. “Why the hell would they have the same thing??? They don’t bring as many people to the theater…’

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

Budget-wise, Wicked peaked at around $300 million, with each side averaging a budget of $150 million, according to a report from Variety.