Ariana Grande has commented on the alleged double standards behind the criticism she received over her voice change for her role as Glinda in Wicked . Earlier this year in June, a video of the “Thank U, Next” singer speaking in a deeper tone before instantly switching to a breathier and higher pitch on Penn Badgley’s Podcrushed went viral on multiple social media platforms. Fans called her out for her voice change , to which she responded on Tiktok: “I intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing i’m doing.
I’ve always done this BYE.” In an interview with Vanity Fair , Grande talked about navigating the backlash, and called out the double standards that allegedly exist when actors change their voices for a role, pointing out that men are usually celebrated for it. “There is a part of the world that isn’t familiar with what it takes to transform your voice, whether it’s singing or taking on a different dialect for a role or doing a character voice for something,” she said.
“When it’s a male actor that does it, it’s acclaimed. There are definitely jokes that are made as well, but it’s always after being led with praise: ‘Oh, wow, he was so lost in the role.’ And that’s just a part of the job, really.
“Tale as old as time being a woman in this industry. You are treated differently, and you are under a microscope in a way that some people aren’t.” Grande added that she was proud of the hard work.