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By Billie Schwab Dunn
Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter
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Ariana Grande has broken down in tears after speaking about what it was like working on the 2024 film Wicked.
Appearing on actor Penn Badgley's podcast Podcrushed alongside co-hosts Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari, Grande spoke about the magic she experienced bringing Glinda to life and working with her co-star Cynthia Erivo.
"God, I'm not getting emotional again today; no, we're not doing it," Grande said as tears began to form. "But, no, it really was, because I think, um, there's something baked into these roles where you're so different from one another that you never know how it can go. When you, you know like, you're sharing this experience in a big way, in a very big way.
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"People have needs and people have their own creative process and you never know, like, are we... are we going to be healthy? It was the most symbiotic, beautiful... I feel very grateful to have done this with her," Grande added. Newsweek emailed spokespeople for Grande and Erivo for comment on Monday.
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The Context
The film based on the popular Broadway musical is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. The story details how the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, and Glinda the Good Witch met and became friends.
Award-winning actress Erivo plays Elphaba in the upcoming film alongside Grande as Glinda. Also starring alongside the duo are Ethan Slater as munchkin Boq and Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero.
The musical opened in 2003 and celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. It is one of the longest-running musicals on Broadway, with nearly 8,000 performances to date. The original cast featured award-winning actresses Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in the lead roles.
What We Know
After sharing how grateful she was to work alongside Erivo, Grande started to cry.
"Sorry, it's just... " she said, trying to hold back tears. "Sorry, oh my God, the campiest campfire I've ever been to."
As Badgley, Kavelin and Ansari laughed, Grande added: "To work with someone who is just absolutely in their own league as a talent in the world—there's no one like her, she's an alien—and to just feel like we somehow speak the same language and somehow we're destined to do this together and to feel safe every single day together and hold space.
"We both have similar but different processes, similar but different needs, we're both opposite and the same and to have that—the love that we have and trust that we have and, um, like really truly, like, deep love that we have for each other is like I—I think it all kind of happened the way it did because of that and because we were supposed to be in each other's lives, I really do," she said.
As she fanned away tears, Grande added: "oh my God, sorry, I just love her so much...really, I was a different person before we knew each other. I think—I hope—we learned a lot from each other but I learned so much as a person from her."
Views
People took to the comments of the podcast episode on YouTube to share their love for Grande and admire her vulnerability.
"Seeing Ariana so comfortable, vulnerable and open is an amazing testament to the safe space these guys created as hosts [love heart emoji] Definitely one of Ari's best interviews ever, she really let us see that human Ari is fully in control now, and I hope she's here to stay because it's been wonderful seeing this side of her," one person commented.
"I really love how Ariana feels more comfortable & happy to be around positive & genuine people around her. My girl is so very happy & healthy," wrote another.
"The way she spoke about Cynthia made me SO emotional," someone else posted.
A fourth added that "her relationship with cynthia is so touching."
What's Next?
In the United States, the theatrical release of Wicked is scheduled for November 27, 2024.
The adaptation will be released in two parts, Wicked and Wicked Part Two.
Update 06/17/24, 09:06 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information.
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