Ariana Grande Was Disturbed by the Pink and Green Wicked Mac & Cheese

Ariana Grande Was Disturbed by the Pink and Green Wicked Mac & Cheese

-Our first guest tonight is an
Academy Award-nominated actress, Grammy Award-winning
singer and songwriter, and one of the best-selling
musical artists of all time. She’s currently starring
in “Wicked: For Good,” which is in theaters
and IMAX now, and she’ll be returning
to host “SNL” for the third time this Saturday
with musical guest Cher. Please welcome to the show
the one, the only Ariana Grande, everybody. [ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Please, welcome. Thank you for dressing
exactly the way I would want you to dress. -Well, I just wanted
to be comfortable. -Yes,
you’ve got to be comfortable. -I just wanted
to be comfortable. -You look the most comfortable
in that dress than I think anybody could look. So I want to make
that clear, as well. -Well, thank you.
I’m so happy to be here. -Thank you. First time.
I’m thrilled to have you. -I know.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Very, very… -And the holiday season,
no less. This is very exciting
because you’re hosting the Christmas episode of “SNL.” This is always a
very special episode. -It’s so inspiring to
be doing it this time of year. -And do you feel
like the writers and cast have been inspired
by the Christmas spirit? At this point, you probably know
what some of the sketches are. -Without giving anything away, there’s definitely
a little bit of holiday cheer sprinkled throughout. But, yeah,
it feels like coming home. I love being in this building. I love being at “SNL” and — -And this is the third —
your third time hosting? -Yep.
-You’ve done music, as well. You’ve done double duty once. -I’ve done double duty once,
yes. -What’s the most stressful
of all of it? -Um… I think when you become
really attached to a sketch that doesn’t make it.
-Yeah. -That’s really tough.
Oh, my God. [ Laughter ] -It’s not a person.
They don’t, like, put the sketch down.
[ Laughter ] -But, no, it really is. I mean, obviously, you know,
you were there for 15 years. -Yeah, like 12, yeah, but… They said I did
15 years worth of work. -Yes.
[ Laughter ] But, yeah, you become
very excited about these things and very attached, and you become close
with the writers and the cast. And when one of them
doesn’t make it, you can never, like,
reference it because no one ever
knows about it except you guys. -Yeah.
-That’s really mournful. It’s hard.
-But you did a great service to one
of these forgotten sketches. You were on Amy Poehler’s
podcast, and you talked about a sketch
that you did with Taran Killam that got cut.
-Yes. -That I did not realize was
on YouTube. I’ve watched the episodes
when you’ve hosted, but I hadn’t watched — And you said it was
your dad’s favorite sketch. -It’s still, I think, might be. -And you said — Taran was here,
and he said, like, you know, “Ariana told me he watches
it a couple times a week,” and I have since watched it, and now I watched it
a couple times a week. [ Laughter ] -It’s very niche.
It’s very specific. -It’s very — The best thing
about it is, you’re the host, and the sketch
is just Taran singing by himself for like four minutes.
-It is. -It’s a great use
of your talents. [ Laughter ] -I was honored to be there.
-Yes. Um, what about Christmas,
in general? Are you somebody
who gets ahead of it? I mean, you’re so busy. Do you manage to actually,
like, buy gifts? -Well, yes, I tried
to get as much of it done as I could before this week because “SNL”
is pretty full out, but I’ve been managing to wrap
some of the gifts in the morning before I leave for “SNL,”
and then when I get home, I’m usually too tired.
-Be honest. Are you decent
at wrapping a gift? Does it look, like, well done? -I think it looks…
well-intentioned. [ Laughter ] -I think that’s
the most important, yeah. -I do, too. I think it’s
the thought that counts. -Yeah.
-And I feel — I do feel guilty about the amount of tape used. -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[ Laughter ] -That’s got to be bad. But I make up for it
in other ways, you know? Plant-based.
-I like that they’re like, “You know what?
She’s thoughtful. She’s not good at this,
but she’s thoughtful.” -No, it’s — it’s —
it’s hideous. But I — it’s with love. -I mean, I think as long
as you do it with love, that’s all that matters. Do you have
a favorite Christmas tradition? -Yes.
Um, we make zeppola. I don’t know if you know,
it’s like zeppoles. People call them.
I don’t know. But we call it zeppola.
[ Cheers and applause ] And my nonna just passed
in June, and that was, like, our favorite thing to do
was make the zeppolas with her. My mission this year is to come
up with a plant-based zeppola. -Oh, wow.
-Yes. She would not like that, but…
-What is a — [ Laughter ] -Maybe I won’t, actually. -You all collectively knew,
like, “Let’s wait till nonna’s gone, and then we’ll do
the plant-based zeppola.” -To just really offend her.
No, no, no. -Well, how do you make
a zeppola? What is, uh…
-Well, it’s this — It’s a big thing of dough. And you sort of, um… You get the big thing
of oil going on the stove, and then you drop
different shapes into it, and you just fry the dough,
and it’s amazing. And you can sprinkle, um, what’s
it called — powdered sugar. -Yes. Oh, my God.
After zeppola, I thought that word
was going to be so much harder than powdered sugar. [ Laughter ] I was like, I definitely knew
it was powdered sugar, but I’m like,
“It can’t be powdered sugar.” [ Laughter ]
I thought it was like, “Oh, a pakahoralaga?” -I’m sorry.
[ Laughter ] I just came from
“SNL” rehearsal, you guys. Please forgive me. By the way, I will tell you,
that is the thing I realized was different about
being at “SNL” and after “SNL.” And it’s not
like this job isn’t hard, but, like, the amount
that I could not remember things when I was at “SNL,” because
I would just work that schedule. And by the way,
like, as hard as it is to, like, write and be on that show,
it’s not as hard as hosting. So I totally understand. -It has to be as hard.
It has to be just as hard. -No. Hosting is so much harder
’cause I’ve hosted once after I left, and I can tell you,
from experience, it is so much harder because —
-But it’s fun. -It’s so much fun.
-It’s so much fun. -But there’s no time
when you host, especially for somebody
like you, because I’m sure they’re using
you in every sketch and, like, there’s no downtime.
-It’s wonderful. -Like, I bet you haven’t
googled anything all week. -I haven’t.
-Yeah, right? -It’s been the best
for that reason. [ Laughter ] -It’s really bringing
down your screen time, hosting the show.
-I know, it’s very healthy. -That’s fantastic. I want to ask you a lot
of questions about “Wicked.” Will you stick around, please?
-Of course. -More with Ariana after this. -We must smoke her out,
force her to show herself. -Uh, without the monkeys, I don’t know
how we’re gonna do that. -Her sister. Use her sister. Spread a rumor…
that her sister’s in trouble. She’ll fly to her side
and you’ll have her. Now, if you’ll excuse me,
I need to lie down. I have a bit of a headache. -We’re back
with Ariana Grande. [ Cheers and applause ] That was a clip from
“Wicked: For Good.” I certainly… I certainly count myself
as someone who is, like, very aware of your talents
before these films came out. But, you know,
getting to watch you as an actress in a film like this
has just been so special. Do you feel like it came around
just at the right time? -I do. You know, it felt so, so,
so, so creatively fulfilling. You know, the funniest thing
about the clip that you just showed
is — I’m sorry. I have to address it. You’ll film a scene like that, and it’s like you’re
emotionally completely empty, and you’re a husk,
and you’re wet with tears and you’re a puddle
in the closet, like, you know, whatever you are, and then some
guy will come over the mic and say, “And that’s lunch.”
And that’s like… [ Laughter ] It’s just like —
it’s the funniest — it’s the funniest,
most rewarding job in the world. And, um, no, it really
did come at the right time. I’ve never felt
more creatively fulfilled by an experience in my life. But I think that’s because of
the role and what it required. -I mean, they obviously did
such an exceptional job, not just with your casting,
but with everyone else. It does seem like it was
this perfect symphony of getting everything right.
Did you know sort of early on how special it was
going to be based on how you were all gelling? -Well, I think so. I mean, you know, I’ve loved
“Wicked” my entire life, but it did feel really special. And I think that’s thanks
to Jon Chu, our incredible director. The environment just felt
so warm and safe and incredible. And 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, like, inviting of improv
and playful. He was just the perfect leader. And, yeah, he made it that way. -I’ve also — you know,
I’ve heard you say, I’ve read interviews
where you talk about, like, the work you did
to sort of, like, get into, like, who Glinda was as a child and sort of building,
like, maybe a backstory that helped you
with the performance. Was that
a rewarding process for you? -Yes.
It really helped me, especially with the —
the bouncing back and forth. I just wanted to know
her as well as I could so that I could track
where certain things were coming from for her. Or, like, if something
was really triggering for her or heartbreaking for her, I could know why and what the
original wound was underneath. You know?
I felt like that was helpful when it comes
to the back-and-forth, because we shot both films
at the same time. So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
I’d be doing this, like, larger-than-life
physical comedy, sort of clownish — you know,
not clownish, but clownish — behavior, and then we’d be
weeping in each other’s arms on Thursday and Friday.
-Someone coming out with a bullhorn and be like,
“It’s time to be sad.” [ Laughter ]
-Yes. Yes. Yeah. -I want to — I want to ask,
because this is obviously — You know,
films that are this successful generate an incredible amount
of merchandise. And I’m sure there are
people all over this country who will be unwrapping “Wicked”
merchandise for the holidays and be very happy about it.
[ Cheers and applause ] Was there a particular
piece of merch that you were most covetous of
when you saw that it was available
for purchase? -Mm.
Well… Well, first of all,
my mom has everything. -Oh, gotcha.
[ Laughter ] -She must be, like, deeply in
debt if she has everything. -No, no, no, no, she really —
she went a little too hard. -Uh-huh.
[ Laughter ] -And I was like,
“Mom, it’s okay. Universal, they’re gonna
send it. It’s okay.” And then she’d be like, “No,
no, no, no, no, I need like 30.” And I was like, “Okay, perfect.”
-Right. -I thought a few of the things
that were a little disturbing, like the pink and green — I hope this is okay to say —
the pink and green, was it mac and cheese
that they did? [ Laughter ]
-Yeah. Yeah, I think it’s fair
to say that’s disturbing, yeah. -That was when I knew,
“Oh, this is big.” -Yeah.
[ Laughter ] -It’s a little bigger
than I thought. -Yeah. I’ve never done anything
where people have been like, “We’re gonna mac-and-cheese it.”
[ Laughter ] -Yeah.
-That’s how you know. -Yeah. Wow.
-Um, I also want to ask, um, Cher this weekend
as the musical guest on “SNL.” I mean, it’s one of those things
where when they — you know, when they post on social who
the host and musical guest are, that’s one I think a lot
of people are, like, had a mini gasp
when they saw it. -Yeah.
-How, uh — have you — Did you know her
before this week? -I met her moments ago. I just came from shooting
the promos with her. -Oh, my God. -And it was the
most exciting thing. -You almost never meet people
right after they meet Cher. -I know!
[ Laughter ] I know.
-Yeah. -No, but it was, um… I mean, she’s just
the one and only. It was so spectacular. And she’s just brilliant,
and I’m so excited. -That’s fantastic.
We’re so — [ Cheers and applause ]
We’re so excited. -And I will say,
a heartbreaking thing happened during the commercial break,
which is, our cue-card guy, Wally…
-Wally, I know! -Yeah.
-I noticed you were there. I was like, “Oh, my gosh.
When are you coming to ‘SNL’?” -Yeah.
-Right after this? Thank God. -So, here’s
the heartbreaking thing. -I’m sorry.
-The heartbreaking thing was, he came backstage, and we were
running the cue cards, and I said, “Oh, Ariana.”
I’m like, “You know her? How do you like her?”
He goes — he goes, “I love her, and we’re really close.
She loves me, too.” And we were —
and then Wally left. We’re like, “No, you don’t.”
And then… [ Laughter ]
And then literally, at commercial break,
you leapt out of your chair. And so now Wally
gets to lord that over us. -I was so excited. [ Cheers and applause ] -It is so…
-He’s the best. -It’s been so wonderful
to have you here. Congrats on the films.
-I’m leaving already? -You’re leaving already.
I’m sorry, but Lorne insisted I get you back
to “SNL.” I would keep you here.
-I’m happy to be here. -Thank you for having me.
-Thank you so much. You guys, Ariana Grande.
[ Cheers and applause ] “Wicked: For Good”
is in theaters and IMAX now, and don’t miss “SNL” this week
with host Ariana Grande, musical guest Cher right here
on NBC and streaming on Peacock. Stick around. We’ll be right back
with Fran Drescher.

Ariana Grande talks about getting attached to sketches that didn’t make it to air on Saturday Night Live and how creatively fulfilling it was to star in the Wicked movies before sharing her thoughts on the Wicked mac & cheese.

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Ariana Grande Was Disturbed by the Pink and Green Wicked Mac & Cheese
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