Ariana Grande opened up about why she used her full name, Ariana Grande-Butera, for the end credits of “Wicked.” The musical fantasy film, which stars Cynthia Erivo and Grande, is set to hit the theaters later this month. The anticipation is high as “Wicked” sees the actors step into the roles of the iconic characters, Elphaba and Glinda, from the magical world of Oz.
Ariana Grande breaks down as she talks about using her full name in ‘Wicked’
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Ariana Grande broke down in tears when asked how her father, Edward Butera, reacted to the actor’s full name — Ariana Grande-Butera — being used for the end credits of “Wicked.” The 31-year-old revealed that her dad cried after finding out. Moreover, she shared that was her name when she first saw “Wicked.”
Grande said that her role as Glinda and the film helped her to “come home to little Ari,” further adding, “And maybe little pieces of her got lost along the way in this crazy industry.” Grande gushed, “I am so grateful for the ways in which this experience led me back. So I kind of just, like, wanted to capture that.” Grande recalled that “it happened so randomly” and how she first texted her co-star, Cynthia Erivo, about using her full name for the film’s end credits.
The actor further revealed surprising her dad before the others got to see the film. She shared that the film’s director, Jon M. Chu, was “so generous” to send the credits to her. Grande said, “[Chu] knew that people were going to start seeing it soon and he was scared someone was going to talk about it before he [Butera] got to see it.”
Ariana Grande recalled playing the credits for her father on her laptop, saying she wanted to show him the “typography.” Meanwhile, the singer secretly recorded her dad’s reaction. She then said, “It was a big surprise and he cried. It was very emotional.”
