A few days ago, Ariana Grande dropped the music video for “Petal,” the first single of her latest album of the same name. Reaction to the video did not go as planned. Ariana’s fans have been worried about her for months now, noting her increasingly emaciated figure and wondering aloud if she had the right people around her, people who could help her or tell her the truth about what they were seeing. Well, it looks like the “Petal” music video was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The reaction was so overwhelmingly concerned and upset, Ariana is now stepping away from all of her commitments. I truly hope she gets some help, if that’s what she needs.
Ariana Grande is taking a break. After her Eternal Sunshine tour wraps in London on Sept. 1, the singer, 33, will be stepping away from the public eye, as scrutiny surrounding her health and body intensifies.
A representative for Grande tells PEOPLE exclusively, “Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour.”
“She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny,” the rep continues. “This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”
A source close to Grande tells PEOPLE of the singer, “She performs a very physical show, and there is a lot of athleticism involved. She performs healthily and successfully at a very high level night after night.”
Grande will also no longer be appearing in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, PEOPLE confirms. It was scheduled to open at London’s Barbican Centre next summer, with Grande’s Wicked costar Jonathan Bailey starring opposite her. The source close to Grande tells PEOPLE she “cannot wait to support the brilliant team bringing this project to life.”
Grande’s physical appearance and overall health have been a topic of public discussion in recent years. Most recently, after the music video for her latest single, “Petal” — off her recently released album of the same name on July 31— was released, the public discourse ramped up.
These statements are not inspiring much confidence, especially this one: “She performs a very physical show, and there is a lot of athleticism involved. She performs healthily and successfully at a very high level night after night.” That is Ariana’s attempted justification: look, I’m still able to perform my shows, that means I’m healthy! Girl, no. It’s possible that Ariana’s fragile appearance is a health issue or illness. And if that’s the case, then she’s doing the right thing by taking a break from work and visibility as well. I truly hope these statements are cover for Ariana getting real help.
Screencaps courtesy of Ariana’s “Petal” music video.
She does not look healthy and strong – I remember hearing an interview with Taylor Swift and how she ended up with disordered eating habits that affected her performance esp when on tour. She got help and you can tell from the Eras documentary that she was physically healthy and strong.
I hope she gets help – TBH she’s had a v hectic few years. Messy divorce, mess new relationship all while starting in a massive movie.
Ariana Grande has in recent years read Brittany Murphy to me, and not in a good way. Like Kate Middleton and countless other women I hope she gets the help she needs, because that look isn’t healthy…
You’re so right. I couldn’t put my finger on it but that’s who she reminds me of now.
This last single of hers is a cry for help. She’s probably not even aware of it but she needed that push and outrage to press pause and hopefully to get help. She’s been on a spinning wheel for years now. Wishing her all the best on her healing journey.
If what’s suspected is true, I hope her disappearing from public life isn’t just a way to hide without getting help. Her being on tour while this is going on is also a little scary.
Yes, I hope this means she will be getting in-patient treatment.
Whatever the case may be i think this is the right decision. I think it is good for an artist to take a break every now and then.
Her team’s statement sounds a bit petulant, but here’s hoping that Grande gets the help that she needs.
It really reads petulant doesn’t it? Which doesn’t give me a lot of hope for her. But frankly if publicly they want to snark and scold the “mean old public”…but she still gets the help she needs? Scold and snark away. Seriously. Just get help.
I know there has been a lot of discussion about today’s young women on current social media calling out the extreme thinness trend in Hollywood and with influencers. I hear it said such call outs are a problem, and how such commentary is “inappropriate” or “unhelpful”. But frankly as someone old enough to have lived through the “heroin chic” phase of the 90s/early 2000s, I say: “Louder girls”. Call it out, complain, don’t support the products, say it clearly this is not what you want to see. I saw too many girls of my generation suffer and while I am sorry some of these famous women may feel hurt….tough luck…young women of today save yourselves and save each other. Louder.
Which doesn’t give me a lot of hope for her. But frankly if publicly they want to snark and scold the “mean old public”…but she still gets the help she needs? Scold and snark away. Seriously. Just get help.
Agreed! Her team can stew their feelings about the backlash, as long as it pushes them to do the right thing. Grande is out here doing a ‘body check’ with that music video, and even her stans are like, “Erm…”
I hear it said such call outs are a problem, and how such commentary is “inappropriate” or “unhelpful”.
Same! A lot of people are using Chadwick Boseman and his illness and trying to compare it to hers and that her body shouldn’t be pointed out. Which… meh. Chalk and cheese, not the same thing.
September 01 is less than four weeks away, so I hope she can hold on until then.
I think it’s gross how many times they put in healthy, successful, and happy. If you have to tell people those things, it’s probably not very true.
If her team really cared about her they wouldn’t have released that video and the tour wouldn’t be continuing.
This. 100% this. This video will live forever. Imagine caring for a person and not fighting like hell to keep this video from being released? Where are her people?
That was what I said when I saw her (and Cynthia Erivo at times) during the Wicked promo. It was like a competition as to who could get thinner. And it really annoyed me that the producers/costume designers highlighted it with low-cut dresses showing each bone in her chest, instead of finding more concealing dresses. Little girls were seeing that movie in droves.
Exactly. I think that as they purposely dressed her in a a way to highlight her thinness and chose do include those angles to generate buzz and traffic at her expense.
This reminds me of Brittany Spears, where she had all these people around her and no one was actually looking out for her, just looking out for their profit.
Right? They’re basically saying, “We’re carrying on with the tour and ignoring your criticism.” They would have done better to not respond at all.
The amount of people who would have been involved in that video and still said nothing provides zero confidence that her team cares about her health. That statement is childish nonsense too. The public is shocked at seeing visible chest bones.
I hope that someone who cares about Ariana gets her the help she needs. Because it’s clear she needs help.
I hope she gets a better team, they are not helping her.
She has been through it, hasn’t she. Just the Manchester bombing alone would be too much for a person in the public eye to deal with.
I am careful to not talk about people’s bodies because you never know if they are sick or just dealing with a lot of stress. But she and Cynthia didn’t look well to me last year on the Wicked promos. And she looks even less healthy now. Her team’s statements make anyone expressing concern seem like jerks which honestly is a lot. Her fans care about her and are seeing something that is alarming them.
She doesn’t look well and I hope she gets the help she needs. Her team gaslighting her fans isn’t helping.
Exactly my thought as well, M&GAN, this statement insinuates that it’s the public that is crazy to think she’s anything less that perfectly healthy. Most of the online discourse that I have seen has centered around a real concern for her welfare and well being.
To echo comments from others above, I also think there has been an emphasis on clothing choices that expose her chest and sternum which doesn’t seem accidental. She apparently had input on the Wicked designs so I always wondered if it was intentional. But with the designs for her tour and this video it seem clear (IMO) that she’s intentionally displaying these areas of her body. I’ve not seen anyone online comment on Law Roach designing the video…. I feel like he should be getting some heat for these costumes that are clearly putting her rib bones on display.
I can’t believe she is waiting a whole extra month before (hopefully!!) doing anything about her health. From a lot of the discourse I’ve read her current state is already giving massive alarm bells and might not be recoverable– so waiting another whole month could be catastrophic. Absolutely terrifying that the people around her are enabling this.
Contractually, she may not be able to get out now and may have to wait the month.
I have no doubt this is true. I’d hope that her team would always build in caveats for illness/injury/unpredictable events etc; if Ariana doesn’t have the power to add that as one of the biggest artists in the world, that’s mind-blowing :'(
Maybe they will provide her some help in the meantime on the road (a coach or a family member or a physician).
Artists get insurance for these tours so while I wonder how she got insured in the first place, she would be able to access it now.
I predict she will end the tour within the next few days. Maybe this statement was released to prepare fans for this happening.
I saw her in Austin and she sounded incredible but looked incredibly tiny. I was surprised that she had the energy to complete the show the way that she did. I think she’s a generational talent so, selfishly, I hope she gets help so that I can enjoy what she shares with us for years to come.
Holy crap, that video … WTF?
What is her team thinking???
Her team is thinking money.
The poor girl has been taking a ‘step back from visibility’ for a while. I hope she gets rest and care, not least because she is a role model for youngsters. It’s not body shaming to see that she looks very underweight, whereas she was previously petite.
During the Wicked movies I wondered if there was a “madness of two”, so to speak, with Grande and Cynthia Erivo, as they both seemed to form a very strong bond (which I thought was nice) while simultaneously becoming emaciated in front of us…I gave it the benefit of a demanding and stressful shoot with them bonding in a way none of us could understand….But damn, I can barely look at the screenshots from that video – when you take into account that pictures and video add weight to literally everyone, how bad does she look irl? Without makeup and lip injections we are talking skeletal, her eyes are hollow and her hair is thin and I’m not saying any of this to be mean or pick on someone’s appearance – I hope she gets help and her PR people are raising red flags
Like the Allie McBeal cast. It was the culture and expectation of almost the whole ensemble.
Yikes. That’s a disturbing video. Girl needs a treatment center. They’re actually awesome if it’s the right one.
I didn’t forget the late Mac Miller. I think she is a closeted junkie, with a eating disorder.
It’s time for a drug rehabilitation center.
I do have to wonder if in the end it will be the brand deals drying up that forces her to get help. At some point even the most ragebaity of fashion houses will say no because they don’t think Holocaust Couture is something that will sell.
Agree that she looks really emaciated and also WTF with that video? This is disturbing on several fronts. The music is completely forgettable, her voice lacks its usual power, and what are they glorifying in this story? Sorry to see art imitating life. Not just two weeks ago did we see a man in Minnesota who was unhappy that he couldn’t get out of his parking lease, went home and got a gun, came back and shot up the apartment rental office killing 3 employees. Sooooo…yeah, what is the message of this video?
I saw the photos and gasped out loud – I hope she can find people to give her the honesty and help she so desperately needs.