Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and that seems to be what Ariana Grande thinks about Kelly Ripa’s impersonation of her.
On Monday, March 3, the 54-year-old TV personality and husband, Mark Consuleos, spoke to E! at their “After the Oscars” special at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Ripa revealed the 31-year-old singer’s reaction to her transformation into her character, Glinda, from Wicked last week as part of a pre-taped segment for the special.
“Kristofer Buckle, who did my makeup, who knows Ariana personally, [he said] she left him a voicemail about how amazing she thought it was,” the Live With Kelly and Mark co-host gushed.
“I mean the alternative is a horrible feeling. ‘What did you do!’ but no, we worked really hard on it,” Ripa remarked. “I can’t take credit because it was Christopher and Ryan [Trygstad] that really, you know, they really made the look.”
At the time of her transformation, the All My Children alum looked so much like Grande that she tricked her hubby into thinking he was talking to the pop star. Consuleos, 53, recounted how that moment went down.
“When I saw her [Kelly] for the first time, her assistant called me and said, ‘hey Kelly wants you to speak to Ariana Grande,’ and to be honest, I was a little annoyed because I was going somewhere,” Consuleos told E!. “I’m like, ‘Wait, wait, I don’t. I don’t have time, I don’t,’ and then all of a sudden, they throw her on the camera. I’m like, ‘hi so nice to meet you.'”
However, Consuleos did participate in the Wicked reenactment with his wife, opting to impersonate Prince Fieyero (played by actor Jonathan Bailey.)
Ripa posted an Instagram Reel last week showcasing the makeover process, which included facial prosthetics.
The Hope and Faith alum once again credited her hair and makeup team. “Follow me beyond Oz into the land of make believe. Let’s hear it for the actual wizards 🪄🔮@kristoferbuckle @ryantrygstadhair #AfrertheOscars,” Ripa captioned her post.
As for the “Eternal Sunshine” singer, she delivered a show-stopping performance at the 2025 Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2, singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz and then joining Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo for “Defying Gravity.” She lost the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress to Zoe Saldana from Emilia Pérez.
