Current：Home > StocksAriana Grande Responds to Fan Criticism Over Her Wicked Casting -GrowthSphere Strategies
Ariana Grande Responds to Fan Criticism Over Her Wicked Casting
View
Date：2025-04-15 03:24:57
Ariana Grande understands that she wasn’t necessarily a popular choice to play Glinda in Wicked.
The 31-year-old opened up about her history with the hit Broadway musical and her passion for playing the pink-loving “good” witch in the film adaptation opposite Cynthia Erivo in the role of Elphaba.
“It has to be earned, anything on this scale,” Ariana said on the Nov. 1 episode of the Sentimental Men podcast. “Of course, it’s Wicked, that’s the most respectable thing. That has to be earned!”
However, she understands why Wicked fans might not welcome the casting news.
“Going off of ‘Side to Side,’ I probably would’ve said the same thing," she said. "I probably would’ve said, ‘Why the f--k? Kill me. I’ve waited 20 years for this. Kill me.’ I would’ve said that as a fan from the outside, knowing of only ‘7 Rings.' I’d say, ‘Well, that’s bulls--t.’ So, you know, I get it.”
The Grammy winner also admitted to being anxious over living up to expectations.
“I felt a little bit of the initial nervousness,” she said, “or the sort of preconceived notions about what I might be able to deliver or not deliver, or why I would be wrong or whatever.”
The “thank u, next” singer added that though some might perceive her stardom as an advantage, she felt otherwise.
“I think it’s the opposite, it can work against me in certain ways,” she explained. “When you have this caricaturized persona out there and people know you as this one thing. Is this person going to be able to erase that and disappear into this character?”
In 2021, Ariana went through several rounds of auditions for the highly anticipated role and even got the blessing of actress Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role on the stage. In fact, Ariana shared that Kristin burst into tears when she told her she planned to audition for Glinda.
“She was like, ‘I was hoping this would happen. I love you and I trust you, baby girl,’” Ariana recalled. “’Just do your thing. You’re so funny and you have great instincts, and no one knows that. You’re gonna back door ‘em.’”
Wicked hits theaters Nov. 22.
For a first look at Ariana’s role in the film, read on.
veryGood！ (28)
Related
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Kenneth Eugene Smith executed by nitrogen hypoxia in Alabama, marking a first for the death penalty
- Atlanta Falcons hiring Raheem Morris as next head coach
- Nevada high court ruling upholds state authority to make key groundwater decisions
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Kim Kardashian’s Cult Favorite Lip Liners Are Finally Back, Plus Lipstick and Eyeshadows
- Russian man who flew on Los Angeles flight without passport or ticket found guilty of being stowaway
- Inflation slowed further in December as an economic ‘soft landing’ moves into sharper focus
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Josef Fritzl, Austrian who held daughter captive for 24 years, can be moved to regular prison, court rules
Ranking
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- How tiny, invasive ants spewed chaos that killed a bunch of African buffalo
- NASA's Mars helicopter, first to fly on another world, ends marathon mission with rotor damage
- Luka Doncic lights up Hawks for 73 points, tied for fourth-most in one game in NBA history
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- King Charles III is admitted to a hospital for a scheduled prostate operation
- Russian man who flew on Los Angeles flight without passport or ticket found guilty of being stowaway
- Jannik Sinner knocks out 10-time champ Novak Djokovic in Australian Open semifinals
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
Alabama execution using nitrogen gas, the first ever, again puts US at front of death penalty debate
New Mexico lawmakers don’t get a salary. Some say it’s time for a paycheck
Many Costa Ricans welcome court ruling that they don’t have to use their father’s surname first
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
Georgia senators vote for board to oversee secretary of state despite constitutional questions
Biden calls regional partners ahead of CIA chief’s meeting in push for another Gaza hostage deal
General Hospital Actor Tyler Christopher's Official Cause of Death Revealed