With a new year here, the first quarter of the 2025 TV schedule is littered with award shows that will honor this past year’s achievements, ending with the 97th Academy Award this March. As Hollywood celebrates the best of the best, the Wicked movie cast is already receiving a lot of love. On Friday, Ariana Grande earned an award for playing Glinda, but she hilariously poked fun at being named a “Rising Star” after already having had a long career.
The Grammy winner was honored at the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Film Awards alongside the likes of other buzzy actors this season, including Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Kieran Culkin, Timothée Chalamet, Colman Domingo and Mikey Madison. When accepted the “Rising Star Award,” she said this:
I’ve been performing since I was a child, so I never thought at the age of 31 I would be hearing the words ‘rising star’ again. So, I want to start by thanking my good friends Botox and Juvederm. I thought I’d be hearing ‘slightly withering star’ or ‘drooping star’ by now, so thank you. [Laughs] I’m kidding.
Wicked is certainly Ariana Grande’s first time leading a major motion picture, but it’s funny to see the words “rising star” next to her name. She started her career on the Nickelodeon show Victorious at the age of sixteen prior to blowing up as a pop star in 2013 with her debut album, Yours Truly. So it was fitting that while accepting the honor, Grande shared a quip about the two popular brands used for cosmetic treatment.
It’s kind of the perfect way for Grande to respond to the award. That’s partly because Grande’s use of cosmetic treatment has often been a subject of conversation online. Also, her comments are a keen way of taking a jab at how women are typically treated in Hollywood with an ageist mentality. Last year, the “One Last Time” went viral when she told Vanity Fair she’s had “fillers in various places and Botox” but she “stopped like four years ago.”
The joke aside, Ariana Grande may have over a decade of fame to her name, but she said Jon M. Chu‘s film certainly does feel like the “beginning of a new chapter” for her. She may be suggesting that she’ll pursue more acting gigs moving forward. That remains to be seen, but fans can expect to see her in the highly anticipated Wicked: For Good later this year. If anything, this latest award serves as a significant embrace from the industry as a whole. So perhaps “rising star” does very much fit in that way. You can check out Grande’s full speech below:
Ariana Grande’s award was introduced by Jennifer Coolidge, who worked with Grande on her “thank u, next” music video in 2018. Funny enough, Grande recently did a spot-on impression of the actress on a Saturday Night Live sketch called “Maybelline.” Right now, following the positive critical and fan response to Wicked, we may very well see Grande on stage again to accept more acting awards this season — and she may have more jokes to share if she wins.
The Don’t Look Up alum is up for Best Performance By A Female Actor In A Supporting Role amid the slew of 2025 Golden Globe nominations, and that show airs this Sunday. She’s also been nominated in the same category for Critics Choice and is expected to be among the Oscar nominees as well. Congrats to “Ari” for her award, and be sure to keep tabs on her future endeavors.