Thank Ariana Grande When You See Bowen Yang In 'Wicked'

It’s hard to think of someone with more influence in Hollywood than Lorne Michaels. They exist! Plenty of people have just as if not more pull than the legendary Producer, but he is up there. He has made and broken careers with a “yes” or a “no.” The man produces shows, movies, and one of the longest-running shows in television history. People can do a bad impression of him and you’ll still likely know who they’re impersonating. He is a “king” in the land of entertainment, so of course he still listens to a queen.

Ariana Grande has worked in the industry since she was 15 years old. She started on Broadway, a difficult feat to achieve at any age but especially a young one. From there, she made her way to Nickelodeon, where she appeared on the show Victorious. Since then she’s just sort of floated around from gig to gig. Oh, wait, sorry, I meant to say that she has become one of the biggest recording artists in the world. Ariana Grande is huge, so when she came calling about Bowen Yang, Michaels listened.

Grande recently appeared on Yang and Matt Rogers’s podcast Las Culturistas. There, the Wicked co-stars discussed working on the new film together, with Grande emphasizing her excitement. “I was so, so over-the-moon excited that you were gonna be able to do it. I called Lorne [Michaels],” Grande explained and then wondered if Yang knew that she had casually dialed up his boss (he did).

Despite the ease with which she dialed up Lorne Michaels, Grande did not take her request lightly. “Well, because I knew that it was a huge, massive ask and also, probably an impossible one,” she noted. “And I didn’t have anything — any sort of resolution to pitch him. But, um, you know, he made it work,” she told Yang and Rogers. This is one of those moments that makes me ask, “What is your life?” Can you imagine starring in and producing one of the biggest movies of the year and also being able to be like, “Hey, Lorne, I need a favor?” Wild stuff.

Yang played no small part in getting Lorne to say yes. “It’s the only time that I’ve ever pulled, like, a pouty face in front of him, to be like, ‘I really wanna do this.’ And then he was like, ‘Okay,’” he explained. Grande also took a moment to acknowledge Yang’s sacrifice, as he was flying back and forth between NYC and London to do both SNL and Wicked. That’s an insane schedule!

Aside from one notable hiccup, it appears this will work in everyone’s favor. Early reactions to Wicked are predominately positive. The odds of it doing well at the box office are strong. It’s looking like the film will be a massive hit and Grande brought Yang along for the ride. That’s pretty… wicked (I’m so sorry, I grew up in Massachusetts).