Wicked Stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Arriv recently broke their silence on the film’s contract and payment issue.
The actors opened up in a joint interview about the “rare” step they took to ensure they were paid equally. Variety.
“We went through our contracts together and called each other. Did you see that? What do you think about that? Let’s get it together!” the singer said.
Cynthia reveals, “We both went through it — ‘What number are we doing? How do you feel about it?'”
“We were really honest. And that’s really rare. People don’t do that,” said the 37-year-old, who plays the lead character of Alphabet in the film.
“We’re so different, but when we do something like this together, her needs become my needs,” Ariana remarked.
“And her needs became mine,” Cynthia mentioned.
Elsewhere in the interview, the two actresses explained how they “took care of each other” during their emotional, much-mocked press tour for director Jon M. Cho’s $150 million film.
Ariana shared, “I’m so grateful and proud of how presentable we are. So many people have come up to us and been like, ‘How are you holding up?’ With a long face. And we have just looked at each other, ‘We are grateful and floating.’
“We’ve had a good time,” Cynthia added.
Meanwhile, June in an interview with the same outlet praised the equal pay negotiations for the actresses.
“This is a modern production. This is what Hollywood should reflect. This is the co-CEO of ‘Wicked Ink,'” said the filmmaker.