This pop star’s team have taken the unusual step of issuing a public statement after her latest music video sparked fears for her wellbeing.
Ariana Grande will soon take a step back from the public eye and has dropped out of her next project, amid growing concerns over her health.
The star is in the middle of a 41-date world tour and last week released her latest studio album Petal and accompanying new single.
The music video for the album’s title track, released on Friday, shocked many who watched it — the always petite singer appears thinner than ever before, her rib bones visible through her skin as she dances in an off-the-shoulder top.
The video has attracted tens of thousands of comments on social media platforms expressing concern for Grande’s health, with even several fellow celebs speaking up to voice their worry.
The top-rated comments under the video on YouTube all share the same sentiment. “It’s not about wanting the old Ariana back. It’s about wanting her to be healthy,” reads the top comment under the video, liked almost 40,000 times.
“This was a hard watch,” read another top comment, while another said of the video that “the elephant in the room is impossible to ignore”.
Now, a representative for Grande has issued a public statement, saying the star will take a step back away from the spotlight after her current tour commitments wrap on September 1.
“Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour,” Grande’s rep told People.
“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 continued.
“This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”
People also quotes a “source close to Grande” who insists the star is perfectly healthy, citing her tour commitments as proof: “She performs healthily and successfully at a very high level night after night.”
But People also reports that Grande has dropped out of her next planned project, a West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George that is scheduled to take place in the English summer next year. Grande was set to reunite with her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey for the stage show.
Broadway World reported that the opening date for the West End show had already been pushed back twice to accommodate Grande’s current world tour dates.
“Following this evening’s announcement from Ariana Grande’s team, we can confirm that she has decided to step back from Sunday in the Park with George,” a spokesperson from the show’s production company told the BBC.
“We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support. We wish her nothing but the best.”
American broadcaster and former The View panellist Meghan McCain is one well-known figure who spoke out about Grande’s new music video, saying it reminded her “of the Amy Winehouse era when it was blatantly obvious something was very wrong but everyone around her just ignored and enabled it”.
Actress and body positivity campaigner Jameela Jamil also spoke out online, calling the video “dangerous”. “This poor woman is possibly dying right in front of us,” she claimed.
Grande has faced speculation about her size for several years now. Back in 2023, the star posted a video on social media in which she urged her followers to be more mindful before sharing their opinion on others’ appearances.
“The body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body. I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly,” she said, referring to past photos of herself that fans had said showed her looking healthier.
“[I was] at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy, but that in fact wasn’t my healthy.”
