Ariana Grande's Love Scene Deleted For Being Too Sexy For Wicked Audiences

It seems like a steamy and potentially viral moment between Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey has been left on the cutting room floor of the Wicked: For Good sequel. The kissing scene that was filmed between Grande's Glinda and Bailey's Fiyero was cut out of the movie as it was described by the film's writers and creatives as good but maybe a bit too sexy for the emotion-rich line the filmmakers wanted. The choice to cut Grande's kissing scene has received mixed reactions from fans who hoped to see every part of the characters' sizzling chemistry.

Background on Wicked and Ariana Grande's Role

Wicked began life as a best-selling novel and then a blockbuster stage musical that reimagined the witches of Oz. The franchise grew into big screen adaptations directed by Jon M. Chu and starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. Grande first played Glinda in the earlier film and returned for the sequel, bringing her pop star charisma and vocal power to the character. The films have been a terrific sync of emotions, music mixed with character work, and the sequel seemingly aimed to resolve emotional arcs while keeping the musical heart intact.

Grande's Glinda is not the frothy, one dimensional foil many expect. As per reports and reviews, the film portrays the character with layers of vulnerability and untapped mysteries. Furthermore, Grande's performance earned a lot of praise not just for her vocals but for the way she anchored Glinda's emotional arc, especially in scenes that explored friendship, regret and love. It appeared that the complexity made every romantic beat in the sequel feel consequential, which may partly explain why the filmmakers agonised over which moments to keep.

Read More: Florence Pugh Reveals the Unseen Side of Filming Sex Scenes – And It's Not Pretty

Why Ariana Grande's Kissing Scene Was Deleted

The scene that did not make the final cut reportedly showed Glinda and Fiyero sharing a passionate kiss that the creative team felt was too convincing for the story. As explained by co-writer Dana Fox, the sheer intensity of the kiss gave Glinda and Fiyero a romantic gravity that would have made Fiyero's later choice to pursue Elphaba harder for audiences to accept. The kiss scene was so convincing that it risked changing how viewers felt about the characters and their eventual relationships, which would have hurt the overall film story. Moreover, Fox said everything removed had been cut for story reasons and that she did not regret the decision.

According to reports, those close to the production have described the cut as one of many edits intended to preserve the emotional balance of the sequel. Director Jon M. Chu and the screenwriting team wanted the audience to understand Glinda's evolution without allowing a single kissing scene to skew sympathy away from Elphaba or make Fiyero's choices feel inexplicable. Cutting the kiss was framed as a narrative necessity rather than a prudish trimming of sensuality.

Fans have reacted in different ways. Some are disappointed, saying they wanted to see more of the hot chemistry between Grande and Bailey. Some others have called it intriguing rather than scandalous, hoping the deleted moment will appear on a home release as a bonus feature. Furthermore, online chatter has pulled in viral comments about other excised moments from the film, from shirtless shots to offbeat wardrobe choices, all leading to the same question: how much heat is too much heat in a mainstream musical adaptation starring a megastar like Ariana Grande?