Wicked director explains why he had to ask Ariana Grande to ‘come back’ with no makeup

Wicked director Jon M. Chu has explained why he had to ask Ariana Grande to 'come back' with no make-up on when she was auditioning for the flick.

Now, as we know, Wicked is one of the most-loved musicals of all time so it makes total sense that when it came to the casting of the film adaptation, the director would want the perfect fit for the roles of Glinda and Elphaba.

Chu ultimately landed on Grande to play the former while the incredibly talented Cynthia Erivo stepped into the role of Elphaba.

However, Grande's initial audition for Glinda clearly wasn't enough to sell Chu on casting her right off the bat hence why he made one request to the singer-actress the next time she auditioned for the part.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, the director explained: "For Glinda, specifically, Ariana came in and, you know, she had maybe a higher bar than everyone else, because she has such a public persona, and I really didn't want it to overshadow this role of Glinda.

"I wanted to find Glinda."

He continued: "She had to audition. everyone had to audition and she came in, first time, and she looked like Ariana Grande.

"And we thought, 'Hey, what if you came back and just didn't have any of your make-up?'"

Admitting he wasn't too sure how his request would 'go over' with the A-lister, Chu revealed there wasn't 'even a question' from Grande.

"She came in and did that, and I saw her in a totally new light that I'd never seen her in," he added.

Fans have since shared their reactions to Chu's casting strategy, with some confused over his request.

One Instagram user hit out: "It’s disappointing such a creative, imaginative and clearly smart man can’t separate makeup from a woman without asking her to physically remove it."

Another echoed: "You can’t *imagine* a woman without makeup? As a director?"

Many others, however, rushed in to explain Chu's request one a third Instagram user writing: "How are people taking his words so out of context?"

"You guys are not comprehending," penned a fourth. "He didn’t say he couldn’t see her talent because of make-up he said he kept seeing ARIANA and not Glinda. Which is true she has a very iconic look. Y'all are just tryna twist a man’s words."

And a final fan added: "Weird that people are bashing him as if her make-up look isn't iconic.

"When I think of her I think of that cat eye, that bold lip, her look is what makes her so recognisable. He didn't want the Glinda to look like Ariana Grande, he wanted to see if Ariana could look like Glinda."

Wicked is currently screening in selected cinemas.