Ariana Grande has responded to criticism over her casting as Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked.
The 31-year-old musical artist, who is currently promoting the film in Sydney, Australia, appeared on a recent episode of the show. sentimental men podcast and spoke about his role with hosts Quincy Brown and Kevin Bianchi.
Explaining the audition process, she said she felt pressured to overcome the “challenge” of shedding her pop star image.
“I felt a little bit of that initial nervousness or kind of preconceived notions about what I might or might not offer, or why I would be wrong (for the role) or whatever,” Ariana admitted.
Naming two of his hits, he imagined a critic’s perspective: “Following Side to Side, I probably would have said the same thing. I probably would have said, “Why the fuck? Kill me. I’ve waited 20 years for this. Kill me.” I would have said it as an outside fan. Knowing only 7 rings, you’d probably say, “Well, that’s silly.” So you know, I get it.
Ariana Grande has responded to criticism over her casting as Galinda in Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked.
The singer appeared on the Sentimental Men podcast and said she understands the criticism of her casting in the upcoming film.
“This is something I really liked about auditioning for Wicked,” he explained. ‘You have to earn it. Anything on this scale, being a part of anything, doesn’t just happen because you’re known for something.
“So it’s fun to be challenged to reframe people’s perceptions and do the work to earn your way back into other spaces.”
The Florida native studied musical theater from the age of eight and was a longtime fan of the musical, originally starring Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, before landing the role.
Grande understood that 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 has recruited Chu to direct the beloved story in 2021.
The first of the two Wicked installments will hit theaters on November 22, 2024, and its sequel will be released approximately a year later, on November 21, 2025.
On Instagram over the weekend, Ariana shared promotional posts from the start of her press tour.
On Instagram over the weekend, Ariana shared promotional posts from the start of her press tour.
She described herself and her co-star Cynthia as “two best friends” in a Stories post.
Grande made sure to subtly pay tribute to her boyfriend and co-star Ethan Slater when she tagged him in a photo of him holding her Vivienne Westwood dress.
A photo in a carousel post showed her heading to the film’s Sydney premiere in a custom pink Vivienne Westwood dress.
She wrote to her online audience: ‘There really are no words. I missed you all. Thank you for receiving us with so much warmth and love. What a special way to start this tour.”
Grande also made sure to subtly pay tribute to her boyfriend and co-star Ethan Slater when she tagged him in a photo of him holding her Vivienne Westwood dress.
And she shared a post from a fan account marking the third anniversary of the day her casting as Glinda was announced.
