Ariana Grande crashes her Focker-in-Law cast chat - and roasts a Booksmart reunion

Celebrity & Entertainment journalist
Ariana Grande promoting Wicked
Ariana Grande Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0

It's finally Focker-in-Law month, and Ariana Grande is already stealing scenes off camera. Universal Pictures posted a cast video Monday that turned into a mini Booksmart reunion - until Grande crashed it for a hug and a one-liner.

In the clip, Skyler Gisondo, who plays the fiancé of Grande's character Olivia in the Meet the Parents franchise film, caught up with Beanie Feldstein and Eduardo Franco, all three of whom starred together in Olivia Wilde's 2019 Booksmart. At the end, Grande walks into frame, throws her arms around Feldstein, and tells the camera: "I know I wasn't in Booksmart, but I love them so much!"

Gisondo and Franco had their own dig ready. None of them made it into the Wicked duology that earned Grande an Oscar nomination, and Feldstein joked she "would've slayed" had she been cast. "Who should I have been? One of the monkeys?" she asked.

"No!" Grande shot back, still in her Glinda-blonde ponytail, laughing.

The Grammy winner has since returned to her natural brunette after wrapping Focker-in-Law, which premieres Thanksgiving weekend. She also debuted a new bob on Instagram in October, which boyfriend Ricky Alvarez loved.

A star his castmates can't get over

Gisondo kept the praise going in a new The Hollywood Reporter interview, calling the experience of working with Grande "unbelievable." "She has an operatic vocal range, she's an incredible performer and dancer and she's effortlessly funny and charming in this movie," he said. "One day on set, after she played some of her unreleased music, I told her, 'Nobody should be able to do this.'"

Grande's Focker press run comes after Billboard confirmed she'd join the promo cycle despite her rep saying in August she'd pull back from other public engagements. Now she's heading back to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Nov. 8 alongside franchise leads Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, airing at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.

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