The Truth Behind Those Ariana Grande-Cynthia Erivo ‘Wicked’ Paycheck Rumors

Wicked may be sweeping the box office, but it's also stirring up a whole lot of unnecessary drama—at least, off-screen.

Rumors have been swirling online that Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda, was paid a jaw-dropping $15 million for her role, while Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, was allegedly paid just $1 million. The rumor got so much attention after a Reddit post went viral that multiple news outlets picked it up, causing an online firestorm.

But that fire was quickly put out by Universal Pictures, who, in an unusual move, decided to publicly address the speculation.

A spokesperson told Deadline, “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.” The studio didn’t reveal exactly how much either actress was paid, but their response was clear: the pay gap rumor is just that—rumor.

Wicked is a big-screen adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical, which itself is based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire. The story reimagines The Wizard of Oz, diving into the origins of the two famous witches—Glinda the Good Witch (Grande) and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West (Erivo). The film also stars Ethan Slater as Boq, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard.

Despite the fake drama surrounding pay, Wicked is absolutely crushing it at the box office. The film made a huge splash in its opening weekend, pulling in a whopping $164.2 million globally—$114 million of which came from North American theaters. That makes it the biggest opening weekend ever for a film based on a Broadway musical, even beating out Les Miserables from 2012.