Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were ‘really f – – king honest’ as they negotiated ‘Wicked’ salaries together

nypost.com:

got paid the same amount for “Wicked.”“We went through our contracts together and called each other up. ‘Did you see that? What do you think about that?

Let’s get it together!’” Grande, 31, said in the pair’s interview with Variety published Thursday.Erivo, 37, recalled, “We both went through it — ‘What number are we doing?

How do you feel about that?’ We were really f – – king honest. And that’s really rare. People don’t do that.” “We’re very different, but when we’re doing something like this together, her needs become my needs,” added Grande.Erivo noted, “And her needs become mine.” In November, it was reported that Grande was paid $15 million to star as Glinda the Good Witch in the two-part movie musical, while Erivo only got $1 million to play Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.But Universal Pictures denied the alleged $14 million pay gap. “Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder,” a spokesperson for the film studio said in a statement. “The women received equal pay for their work on ‘Wicked.'”Also in the Variety interview, the actresses discussed getting Oscar buzz for their roles in “Wicked,” with Erivo making a strong declaration about the upcoming nominations.“I will raise hell if this lady does not get her nomination,” Erivo said about Grande.“It’s a really f – – king hard job to jump into the middle of something like this and have it be your first time,” the British actress added.Grande thanked Erivo and said she was “very kind.” Erivo went as far as comparing her co-star to Lucille Ball.“She’s the return of that,” Erivo said.