Ariana Grande has responded to criticism of her casting as Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked.
The 31-year-old music artist — who is currently promoting the film in Sydney, Australia — appeared on a recent episode of the Sentimental Men podcast and discussed her role with hosts Quincy Brown and Kevin Bianchi.
Explaining the audition process, she said she felt pressure to overcome the ‘challenge’ of shedding her pop star image.
‘I felt a little bit of the initial nervousness or the sort of preconceived notions about what I might be able to deliver or not deliver, or why I would be wrong [for the role] or whatever,’ Ariana admitted.
Naming two of her hit songs, she imagined the perspective of a critic: ‘Going off of Side to Side, I probably would’ve said the same thing. 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, probably I’d say, “Well, that’s bull****.” So, you know, I get it.’
Ariana Grande has responded to criticism of her casting as Galinda in Jon M. Chu ‘s movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked
The songstress appeared on the Sentimental Men podcast and said she understands criticism of her casting in the upcoming movie
‘This is something I loved so much about auditioning for Wicked,’ she explained. ‘It has to be earned. Anything on this scale, being a part of anything, it’s not just given because they know you for one thing.
‘So, it’s fun to kind of have the challenge of reframing people’s perception and doing the work to earn your way back into the other spaces.’
The Florida native studied musical theater from the age of eight and was a longtime fan of the musical, which originally starred Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, before getting the role.
Grande understood fans would have high expectations of her in the role.
Wicked follows Elphaba — played by Cynthia Erivo — and Glinda as they meet at Shiz University and share a life-changing encounter with Jeff Goldblum’s Wizard of Oz.
Universal enlisted Chu to direct the beloved story in 2021.
The first of two Wicked installments hits theaters on November 22, 2024, with its sequel premiering about one year later on November 21, 2025.
Taking to Instagram over the weekend, Ariana shared promotional posts from the start of her press tour.
Taking to Instagram over the weekend, Ariana shared promotional posts from the start of her press tour
She described herself and co-star Cynthia as ‘two best friends’ in a Stories post
Grande made sure to subtly pay tribute to boyfriend and co-star Ethan Slater as she tagged him in a photo of him holding her Vivienne Westwood gown
One photo in a carousel post showed her headed to the movie’s Sydney premiere in a custom pink Vivienne Westwood gown.
She wrote to her online audience, ‘There are truly no words. I missed you all. Thank you for welcoming us with such warmth and love. What a special way to begin this tour.’
Grande alsol made sure to subtly pay tribute to boyfriend and co-star Ethan Slater as she tagged him in a photo of him holding her Vivienne Westwood gown
And she reshared a post from a fan account that marked the third anniversary of the day her casting as Glinda was announced.
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