Ariana Grande is overjoyed after receiving her first-ever Oscar nomination, and her boyfriend, Ethan Slater, was quick to show his support for her recognition as a supporting actress.
“Picking my head up in between sobs to say thank you so much to @theacademy for this unfathomable recognition,” she shared on Instagram following the announcement of the 2025 Academy Award nominations on Thursday, January 23.
“I cannot stop crying, to no one’s surprise. I’m humbled and deeply honored to be in such brilliant company and sharing this with tiny ari who sat and studied Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just before the big, beautiful bubble entered. I’m so proud of you, tiny.”
Grande, 31, earned a Best Actress in a Supporting Role nomination for her portrayal of Glinda in Wicked. She is joined in the category by Monica Barbaro of A Complete Unknown, Felicity Jones from The Brutalist, Isabella Rossellini of Conclave, and Zoe Saldaña from Emilia Pérez.
Along with expressing her gratitude to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Grande took a moment to thank Wicked‘s director, Jon M. Chu. “Thank you @jonmchu for taking this chance on me and for being the most unbelievably brilliant leader, human being, and most fierce friend. I am so deeply proud of my beautiful Wicked family,” she wrote.
Grande also paid tribute to her co-star, Cynthia Erivo, who was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role. “Your brilliance is never ending [sic] and you deserve every flower (tulip) in every garden. I love you unconditionally, always,” she gushed.
“I don’t quite have all my words yet, I’m still trying to breathe. But thank you. Oh my goodness, thank you. Universal, Marc [Platt], my family, my heart. Lemons and melons and pears, oh my.”
Her Instagram post included pictures of herself as Glinda, a childhood photo of her dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, and a throwback video of her younger self performing Elphaba’s song “The Wizard and I.”
Slater, Grande’s boyfriend and co-star, also celebrated her Oscar nomination on Instagram, sharing a photo of her standing on a window sill holding pink balloons. He also posted several stories about the nomination announcement, with one captioned, “Oscar. Nominated. @arianagrande.”
Grande and Slater met while filming the two-part Wicked movie adaptation in 2022. They began dating in 2023 after both had split from their former spouses, Dalton Gomez and Lilly Jay, respectively.
Wicked earned 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects. The film is tied with The Brutalist for the second most nominations, trailing behind Emilia Pérez, which received 13.
Despite not receiving a nomination for Best Director, Chu, 45, shared his reaction to the film’s Oscar nods via his Instagram Story on Thursday. “When it’s 5:30 a.m. and your movie gets 10 Academy Award nominations,” he captioned a selfie with his hand over his mouth.
In a follow-up post, he added, “It’s way too early, I had way too much coffee. But also I was really happy for our movie. Couldn’t be more proud of our crew and cast and everyone in between who made this movie possible. The greatest adventure of creativity I have ever been a part of.”
The 97th annual Oscars will air on ABC Sunday, March 2, at 7 PM ET.