"Sad day to be a hater" - Internet reacts as Universal Pictures clears Wicked pay disparity rumors between Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo

Social media users had a lot to say as Universal Pictures cleared up rumors of a pay disparity between Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Wicked (Part One) was released in theaters globally on Friday, November 22, to overwhelmingly positive reviews. Jon M. Chu's musical fantasy currently stands at an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 89%.

Popstar Ariana Grande portrays Glinda the Good while Cynthia Erivo of The Color Purple fame brings to life the character of Elphaba.

A slew of rumors began circulating online based on a Showbiz Galore report from February that stated Grande received $15 million for the film while Erivo only made $1 million.

However, a Universal Pictures spokesperson cleared up the speculation in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, November 26, which read:

"Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder. The women received equal pay for their work on Wicked."

Fans were overjoyed by the clarification and joked that this was a sad day to be a "hater". One X user who went by @beyblonded, tweeted out:

Netizens were delighted by the clarification (Image via X/@PopBase)

Similar reactions followed as netizens thought that it was time for people spreading such rumors to "shut up". Here are a few X reactions to the Universal Pictures statement:

Netizens had some choice words for the people who spread rumors (Image via X/@PopBase)

More and more users equally complimented both actresses for their performances but some noted that the actors were likely under an NDA, when it came to talking about their salaries.

Netizens made speculations (Image via X/@PopBase)

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Wicked shatters box office records

Wicked is already breaking records at the box office, even if it's only been a week since it hit theaters. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Jon M. Chu musical fantasy raked in an estimated $114 million over the November 22-24 weekend.

This meant that the movie bagged the fourth-biggest domestic opening for any musical ever, only beaten by Disney's Frozen II, The Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King.

Moreover, this was also the most money brought in by a Broadway adaptation in its opening weekend.

The musical fantasy broke the record by quite the margin too, as second-placed Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt-starrer Into The Woods managed just $31 million.

The Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo-starrer also bagged the record for the biggest worldwide opening for a Broadway musical adaptation, raking in $50.2 million from 61 different markets, adding to its global launch total of a whopping $164 million.

Second-placed Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway-starrer Les Misérables managed to bag $31 million.

This film further commanded the fifth-biggest opening for any musical adaptation. The four positions ahead of Universal's autumn hit was occupied by Disney properties, including Aladdin, Frozen II, The Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King.

Having also successfully managed to woo fans and critics alike with an IMDb score of 8.2, Wicked is currently running in theaters across the globe.