We got a little more of the story behind Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's matching Wicked tattoos. On Instagram, director Jon Chu posted to stories about how he “cautioned” the actors before they got them. “I cautioned them to maybe wait to get any tattoos about the movie until AFTER they see it… but they opted to ignore me and got them on like days 3 of rehearsal," he wrote.
Grande then added a little more context to it (and a fact check), writing, "LOL I remember you saying that and being like "omg…. what does THAT MEAN??????" BUT it was about what we were experiencing and creating and feeling in our hearts, not about the end result." She also noted that they got them the evening after they shot “For Good.”
Wicked: For Good will be released in theaters on Nov. 21.
**Previously: **
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have inked their Wicked connection permanently.
The Grammy-winning singer and her Tony-winning actor co-star have been working closely as the two stars of the movie adaptation of Wicked. Grande plays the bubbly Glinda the Good Witch in the Jon M. Chu-directed film. Erivo plays Elphaba — the green witch who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.
Grande posted a series of photos and videos on her Instagram Story on Friday to showcase memories of 2023, including a few snaps on set. In one slide, Grande shared a photo of her palm alongside Erivo's, with matching tattoos that say, “For Good.” The tattoos are a reference to the emotional duet that Elphaba and Glinda sing as a farewell to one another in the musical.
Aside from matching tattoos and acting together in a highly-anticipated film franchise, Grande and Erivo have been spotted being adorable and having fun outside of the set.
Ariana Grande said she has another Wicked-themed tattoo on the back of her right hand, which is in honor of her character Glinda/ Galinda. She told Allure in August that she had wanted to get a Wicked tattoo “for a very long time.”
“I waited forever to fill up this hand. And I thought, 'I'm gonna wait for the right thing to come along,' and yeah, that felt very right," Grande said at the time.
The singer often marks achievements or big moments in her life with a tattoo and her skin is full of them — including quotes, butterflies, and even a Pokémon.
The long-awaited Wicked adaptation will be split into two movies, released in 2024 and 2025. The films are based on the Broadway musical of the same name, which follows the story from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Grande and Erivo's starring roles were originated by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel as Glinda and Elphaba.
Alongside Grande and Erivo, the films will also star Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Jeff Goldblum, and Ethan Slater.
**This story was updated. **
