Ariana Grande received high praise from her former manager for her performance in Wicked: Part 1.
The film starring Grande, 31, and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo, 37, made box office history with its opening day earnings.
Scooter Braun, 43, who split professionally from Grande in August 2023, remained her manager throughout most of the production of the adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical.
He was prolific in his praise for Grande’s performance and the film as a whole.
“It’s here,” he began, congratulating Grande, Erivo, director Jon Chu, producer Marc Platt and Grande’s boyfriend Ethan Slater for a job well done.
“This film is truly a labor of love by some of the most talented people on Earth,” he said, calling Erivo’s performance “beyond extraordinary.”
Ariana Grande’s former manager Scooter Braun praised the singer’s performance as Glinda in Wicked: Part 1 in a gushing social media post on Saturday.
He then praised Chu, calling him an “epic storyteller.”
“It has been a great honor to witness their adventure over the past 15 years.” he said, adding: ‘Jon Chu is one of the best friends a human being can have. He shows up when it matters.’
“Now to Ari,” the manager wrote. ‘For more than a decade, everything we did there was always a consistent dream… EVIL.’
“And after all these years the world now knows why… because you were born for this moment,” he said.
‘Your talent, your dedication, your voice, your ability to make us laugh and cry at the same time… ARI YOU ARE A MOVIE STAR. And you did that. Congratulations.’
Braun added that he was, “I’m so proud of you and seeing (his daughter) Hart singing Popular made my night.” Bravo bravo bravo,’ he exclaimed, closing the post with, ‘Everyone go watch WICKED!’
The Popular singer offered a kind ‘thank you Scooter.’ What special memories,’ he said, referring to the carousel of photos he shared from the set.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support and for being a part of this.”
Grande was only 20 years old when she began auditioning for the role in the film and ultimately beat out many talented actresses for the role.
Chu said he called the Grammy winner back many times to tell him vanity fair“I kind of didn’t want to believe she could do this.”
Sharing a carousel of photos from the Wicked set, Braun praised the Grammy winner. ‘Your talent, your dedication, your voice, your ability to make us laugh and cry at the same time… ARI YOU ARE A MOVIE STAR. And you did that. Congratulations,’ he wrote.
Braun called Cynthia Erivo’s performance “beyond extraordinary”
The Hollywood executive praised his old friend Jon Chu’s direction of the musical, calling him an “epic storyteller,” adding, “It’s been a great honor to witness his adventure over the past 15 years.”
The Popular singer offered a kind ‘thank you Scooter.’ What special memories,’ he said, referring to the carousel of photos he shared from the set. ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support and for being part of this.’
“It seems too easy to say, ‘Oh, Ariana Grande,'” she said.
He explained that the Break Free artist won the coveted role because “every time she came in, she was the most interesting person.” You just couldn’t look away.
Wicked: Part 1 was released in theaters on November 22.
Fans will have almost a year to see Wicked: Part 2, which will debut on November 21, 2025.