How Wicked bosses covered up Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s romance over fears it could harm film

Ever since it was first revealed that Ariana Grande was dating her Wicked costar Ethan Slater, the pair’s romance – and questions over the timeline of their relationship – quickly overshadowed the project.

With an eye-watering $145million budget and a release date fast approaching after years of delays, studio executives at Universal Pictures were ‘worried’ about the impact their controversial pairing would have on the movie’s success.

Insiders have claimed the couple were instructed to ‘disappear for six months’ in the hope that the backlash would die down before the long-awaited musical hits cinemas on November 22.

But in the months leading up to the big day, it’s not just Grande and Slater’s romance that has enraged fans, whose growing concerns that the film will ‘flop’ has dominated the lengthy promotional trail.

‘When news of the relationship first broke, studio execs were extremely worried about how it would impact the film,’ a source told DailyMail.com. ‘They were feeling the heat and Ariana and Ethan were instructed to disappear for six months, which they did.’

But it’s not just Grande, 31, and Slater’s romance that has enraged fans, whose growing concerns that the film will ‘flop’ has dominated the lengthy promotional trail

The costars met in December 2022 on the UK set of the film adaptation of the Broadway hit, in which Grande, 31, plays Glinda — the good witch — alongside Slater, 32, as munchkin Boq.

At the time, Grande was still married to Dalton Gomez. She filed for divorce in September 2023 and listed the date of separation as February 20, 2023. 

The singer announced her separation from Gomez just three days before confirming her new relationship with Slater. 

Meanwhile, Slater was married to his high school sweetheart, Lilly Jay, when he joined the production. 

The actor, who welcomed his first child with Jay in 2022, filed for divorce in July 2023 – five years after they tied the knot. 

He cited irreconcilable differences and asked for joint custody of their son. The pair eventually finalized their divorce in September.

Grande and Slater’s romance sparked uproar among her followers. This was exacerbated when Jay slammed the Thank You, Next singer in a series of disparaging interviews in which she claimed she is ‘not a girl’s girl’ and accused Grande of seeing her family as nothing more than ‘collateral damage.’ 

Following the continuous flow of negative headlines, Grande and Slater refrained from the spotlight making only a handful of public appearances including his opening night in the Spamalot Broadway show. 

A source told DailyMail.com: ‘When news of the relationship first broke, studio execs were extremely worried about how it would impact the film. They were feeling the heat’

The insider highlighted the fact Grande and Slater remain keen to avoid having a detrimental impact on the film’s success (pictured with their costars in Sydney)

‘Ariana and Ethan are professionals and know better than to bring their personal relationship to promotional events,’ the insider said.

‘Ariana was terrified that her personal actions would cause this film to bomb. They are both divorced and people have moved on from this.’ 

Though Slater only broke his year-long silence about their romance last month, the cast has come together to support their costars.

‘Everyone knows that they are in a serious relationship,’ the insider continued. ‘Everyone was instructed to not discuss this with anyone, and they are all well aware that they will answer no questions about this.’

But the pair’s relationship is no longer the only issue for bosses.

As more preview clips have been shared with the world, some film fans have questioned whether Grande was the right choice for her much-coveted role as Glinda.

In reaction to the trailers, one Reddit user claimed: ‘Ariana’s delivery is obviously subpar, and worst of all, they decided those scenes were the ones worth to collect for a trailer. One part of me is kinda curious about how sloppy is the rest.’ 

Another agreed, adding: ‘I still don’t believe they thought Ariana was the best choice out of the probably hundreds of people that auditioned.

The source added: ‘Ariana was terrified that her personal actions would cause this film to bomb’

Their relationship remained largely out of the spotlight until the film premiere in Sydney last week, with Grande sharing a picture of them on Instagram (pictured)

‘We’ve seen her act. It’s horrible. So the only way I see her getting the role is by buying it + they thought the biggest pop star would bring in views.’

Opening up about the singer’s leading role, the source told DailyMail.com: ‘Glinda could have been an easy role for any talented actress to pull off. 

‘Ariana was brought onto the project to bring in her fans and to get people talking. In the end this is exactly what she did.’

Despite its late November release date, the first teaser trailer for the film dropped in February during the Super Bowl.

It effectively kick started an extremely early promotional run from Grande and her British costar Cynthia Erivo, 37 – who stars in the lead as Elphaba. 

The talented singers started to attend events in Wicked themed ensembles starting with the Super Bowl and then presenting gongs at the Oscars just weeks later.

In April, the pair then teased the movie further at CinemaCon – with the official trailer dropping in May.

When the Olympics kicked off in Paris, Grande and Erivo once again embodied their characters to attend the opening ceremony.

A slew of posters and merchandise such as limited edition popcorn buckets, children’s toys and color-changing mac and cheese began to steadily drop in the months that followed – causing some fans to complain of fatigue before the official promotional tour began with the first premiere in Sydney on November 3.

Taking to reddit, one fan asked: ‘Why is Wicked promo so desperate…I’m cringing already and this is not even out yet’.

Fans have also bemoaned the lengthy promo trail, with one questioning: ‘Why is Wicked promo so desperate…I’m cringing already and this is not even out yet’

The film faced further criticism when Erivo implied a fan-made poster created by a Broadway lover excited for the release was offensive.

Many agreed as another user answered: ‘I feel like it’s to try and divert the attention from the ‘affair’ scandal, otherwise they wouldn’t have produced so many trailers.’

Another commented: ‘I have not seen a Hollywood film promo this intense, so yeah, it screams desperation. 

‘And I don’t think it will do very well because this isn’t the kind of genre that caters to all genders. This isn’t Marvel.’

‘Exactly what I’ve been thinking- don’t get me wrong I love Wicked and am so excited to see it, but this promo is way too far fetched,’ added another. 

‘There are already INTERVIEWS with the cast members coming out by the minute when we haven’t even watched the movie. It’s so extra!’

Issuing a warning about the end results, the user continued: ‘All this is doing is raising our expectations WAYY too high and making it a lot easier for it to flop.

‘Letting it naturally raise to fame once it came out would’ve guaranteed a way bigger success in my opinion.’

In another discussion thread, one fan questioned: ‘Wicked promo has dragged on for so long…I feel like I’ve seen the whole movie already. The first trailer came out what, the beginning of the year? And how many are there, four? Five? The marketing campaign has been going on all year. And the movie release is still a month away. 

‘It feels like they missed the mark of when people were most exited to see it, now it feels like everyone is just tired of it already.’

Matters were made worse when Erivo implied a fan-made poster created by a Broadway lover excited for the release was offensive.

Days later Grande was slammed by Halloween queen Elvira for allegedly snubbing her during a meet and greet. Grande’s apology was branded ‘shady’ by some 

The edit concealed Erivo’s face behind the shadow of her witches hat in a nod to the Broadway poster. The official film poster shows her whole face.

‘This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen…,’ she posted alongside the edited version on Instagram. ‘The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION. I am a real life human being, who chose to look right down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer …because, without words we communicate with our eyes.’

She continued: ‘Our poster is an homage not an imitation… to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.’

Grande stepped in to defend her costar, but it did little to quash the mounting criticism after she found herself lambasted by Elvira days later, who recalled a time the singer allegedly snubbed her at an event.

The Mistress of Darkness, real name Cassandra Peterson, was asked to share her worst celebrity encounter during a Q&A. In response she named a singer who’s moniker rhymes with ‘Pariana Mande.’

She said the Wicked star had requested 20 tickets for an Elvira show for her friends and family, asking her to sign autographs and take photos with them backstage, but when she asked Grande for a picture she allegedly replied: ‘No, I don’t really do that.’

Grande said she was ‘disheartened’ by the story in an apology shared on Instagram, which was taken as inauthentic by some. 

‘Thank you for being so nice to my mom, she told me how lovely you were (she might have different feelings about that now but I’ll talk to her… clearly, we all have our days!)’ she wrote.

A slew of merchandise such as popcorn buckets, color-changing mac and cheese and children’s toys began to steadily drop in the months that followed 

The lengthy promotional run has left some fans to be left feeling fatigue long before the film’s official release

‘The apology is canceled out because she followed it by being shady,’ one person wrote.

Another added: ‘(She might have different feelings about that now) so unnecessary lmao.’

Grande and Erivo sparked further ire when they descended on Kim Kardashian’s Los Angeles mansion to treat her famous family to a special early preview screening of the movie days later.

The reality star’s home was decorated with a mammoth pink Wicked-themed floral arrangement, a movie poster and a green carpet.

Most of the group – including Erivo – wore green pajamas from and pink socks from Kardashian’s SKIMS line, while Grande donned pink PJs and green socks. 

The Kardashian-Jenner family were called out for their ‘obscene privilege,’ while fans questioned why Universal Pictures didn’t use the money to allow children studying theater to see the movie first.

‘The Kardashian’s sleepover was problematic,’ the source told DailyMail.com. ‘There were fears the affiliation with the family could hurt the film more than Ariana and Ethan’s surprise romance. But everyone at the studio knows that very little promotion is needed for this film.’

Universal was recently slammed online for organizing a luxury private screening of the movie for the Kardashian-Jenner family – one month before its release date

Many argued that Universal Pictures should have put the money and effort into allowing children studying theater to see the movie first, rather than the reality TV family 

The insider argued that ultimately the event took place because the studio believed ‘no amount of PR’ would truly affect how much the film brings in.

The source continued: ‘It will be a self-driving machine, and no amount of PR would really affect the money that this will rake in. Wicked is Wicked and they knew this going into it. The name itself will sell the film.’

Directed by Jon M. Chu, Wicked follows the complex friendship and challenges faced by Elphaba, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and Galinda, who becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North.

Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey also stars as Winkie prince Fiyero Tigelaar, alongside Jeff Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the Headmistress of Shiz University.

Wicked Part Two is slated for release on November 21, 2025.