Ariana Grande recently opened up about the intense public scrutiny surrounding her appearance.
In a joint interview with her Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo, the 31-year-old actor emphasized the harmful impact of unsolicited comments about her body, expressing concern over society’s growing comfort in criticizing how others look.
“I’ve been a specimen in a petri-dish since I was 17, so I’ve heard it all,” Grande said. “I’ve heard ‘what’s wrong’ with me, and then you fix it, and then it’s wrong for different reasons.”
“I think in today’s society there’s a comfortability that we shouldn’t have, at all, commenting on others’ looks, appearance… what they think is going on ‘behind the scenes’ or health or how they present themselves,” she explained. “I think it’s dangerous, for both parties involved.”
Her remarks reflect a broader theme that she has often addressed in her career — standing up against body shaming and promoting self-acceptance.
In April 2023, the pop star took to TikTok to address recent comments about her body in an intimate three-minute video that gave fans a candid glimpse into her struggles with health and well-being.
“I don’t do this often. I don’t like it. I’m not good at it,” she started the video. “But I just wanted to address your concerns about my body, and talk a little bit about what it means to be a person with a body and to be seen and to be paid such close attention to.”
“There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful,” she said in the video. “And personally, for me, the body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body.”
Grande went on to explain that during the time people now consider her “healthy,” she was actually at her lowest point.
“I was on a lot of anti-depressants and drinking on them and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life,” she shared. “But that, in fact, wasn’t my healthy.”
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This wasn’t the only time the “God is a woman” singer addressed body-shaming culture. Back in 2015, she responded to a comment comparing her appearance to that of another actress.
“We live in a day and age where people make it IMPOSSIBLE for women, men, and anyone to embrace themselves exactly how they are,” she wrote, urging fans to reject comparisons and focus on self-love.
