Ariana Grande says there’s one specific bit of movie merchandise that convinced her “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good” would be “big.”
The actor and singer swung by “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on Thursday, where she chatted candidly about her plans for Christmas. When Meyers alluded to the amount of “Wicked”-themed gifts that fans are likely to find under their trees this year, Grande joked about one bit of merch that left her feeling slightly unnerved.
“First of all, my mom has everything,” Grande said. “She went a little too hard. And I was like, ‘Mom, it’s OK, Universal, they’re gonna send it, it’s OK!’ And then she’d be like, ‘No, no, no, no, I need, like, 30!’”
A few of those items, she added, were “a little disturbing. Like the pink and green — I hope this is OK to say — the pink and green, was it mac and cheese that they did? That was when I knew, ‘Oh, this is big. It’s a little bigger than I thought.’”
Watch a clip of Ariana Grande’s chat with Seth Meyers below.
Grande was likely referring to Walmart’s “Mystery Color Macaroni & Cheese,” unveiled last year after the release of the first “Wicked” film. A Sporked review published around the same time noted simply: “It’s store-brand microwavable macaroni and cheese; I hope we weren’t expecting a great score here.”
All kidding aside, Grande described the process of filming “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good” as “so, so, so, so creatively fulfilling,” and made a point of singling out director Jon M. Chu, whom she called “the perfect leader.”
“He’s just so thoughtful, and he’s so meticulous and specific about his vision for what it was going to be, and yet the most free and comfortable and inviting of improv and playful,” she added.
Grande will reunite with another one of her “Wicked” co-stars, actor and comedian Bowen Yang, when she hosts “Saturday Night Live” this weekend, reportedly Yang’s last episode of the show.
At the time of her “Late Night” appearance, Grande had just wrapped shooting on a series of “SNL” promo videos with Yang and the evening’s musical guest, Cher.
While Grande has previously collaborated with the likes of Mariah Carey and Madonna, she said meeting Cher for the first time was “the most exciting thing,” even if she had to remain tight-lipped on whether the two will appear together at any point during the “SNL” broadcast.
“She’s just the one and only,” she said. “It was so spectacular, and she’s just brilliant. I’m so excited.”