Ariana Grande Jokes That She Would’ve Been In ‘Insane Asylum’ If Not Cast in ‘Wicked’

Ariana Grande really wanted to be cast in Wicked.

While doing promotion for the film, Grande joked that she would’ve been committed had she not landed the role of Glinda.

“But I knew it had to be earned,” Grande recently per Billboard, below. “And I knew that if it didn’t come my way, I respected it. And I wanted to know that it was gonna be where it was supposed to be because of Jon Chu and [producer] Marc Platt. I knew it was in the most loving hands.”

She continued, “So I just kind of worked as hard as I could [and] let the rest fall into place. I do think though, if it hadn’t happened, I might have ended up in an insane asylum. So there’s that.”

Grande practically manifested the opportunity to play Glinda in Wicked, singing a remake of the stage production’s “Popular” in the 2013 track “Popular Song” with MIKA. A new Xfinity commercial in partnership with Wicked, also shows when Chu gave Grande, and her costar Cynthia Erivo, the news that they were cast as Glinda and Elphaba.

In another TikTok from a separate Wicked panel, per The Hollywood Reporter, Grande discussed her connection to Glinda, who was originated on Broadway by Kristin Chenoweth.

“I think with Glinda…Some of my favorite things in the whole wide world are comedy and high notes. It was all really there, but strangely enough, I feel like the things that make us most adjacent are a little bit harder,” Grande said.

She continued, “I think life kind of prepared me in the strangest of ways to give myself to this role. Because when I was younger, I thought it was because of those things–the comedy, the high notes and the pink.”

Grande went on to compare other elements of her personal life to Glinda.

“But there’s a very specific thing that happens to Glinda that is really strange and I think I’ve seen a fair amount of loss and grief and tragedy, and I’ve been close to it,” she said. “And then I’ve had to be in a similar position to Glinda, where there are the audience, let’s say, who look to her for hope. And I think she’s trying her very best to provide that strength and goodness for others, when at the same time, she’s needing that too.”

Wicked hits theaters on November 22.