Ariana Grande’s look alike, Paige Niemann, has raised concerns after sharing new footage of herself cosplaying as Glinda, Ariana’s character in the Wicked musical. While some admired her transformation, others voiced alarm over her noticeably thin frame, speculating that she may have intentionally lost weight to emulate the pop star’s appearance.
Taking to her TikTok page on December 9, Paige, who claims in her bio that she is “not” an Ariana “impersonator,” shared a clip of herself dressed as Ariana’s Glinda, from Jon M. Chu’s recently released movie adaptation of Wicked.
In the viral video, which has since amassed nearly 17 million views, the 20-year-old wore a pink and white striped button-down dress and a pink ruffled shirt.
The clip further showed Paige lip-synching along to Wicked‘s popular tune, What Is This Feeling?
Ariana Grande’s look alike, Paige Niemann, has raised concerns
The imitation, which was also uploaded to Paige’s Instagram page, sparked divided reactions, as an Instagram user commented: “Ok what?! The resemblance is scary accurate.”
Social media star Eden the Doll wrote: “Flawless execution, people need to chill and appreciate the art and talent it takes to do this !”
An X (formerly Twitter) user, shared: “The fact she’s went as far as losing weight to continue [to look] like Ari is so messed up… jail her.”
Someone else penned: “Yeah I’m so glad finally someone spoke about it because the losing weight part? Why? Like losing weight to look like Ari? Hello?”
“Don’t want to assume that’s what she did but she does without fail, look exactly like Ariana in each style phase that has she gone through, down to a similar looking weight and appearance,” a netizen added.
A Reddit user noted: “She full-on changed her look and lost weight with Ariana… that’s really disturbing behavior.”
Paige shared new footage of herself cosplaying as Glinda, Ariana’s character in the Wicked musical
A separate individual chimed in: “She’s starting to look more like Ariana than Ariana does lol.”
Paige first gained attention for her resemblance to the singer when she was 10 years old and later found fame online with over a million TikTok followers by 2014, The Daily Mail reported on Thursday (December 19).
At the time of writing, Paige is followed by 10.2 million people on TikTok and 764,000 on Instagram.
The influencer started mimicking Ariana’s hair and makeup in 2019, perfecting the look and drawing fans from around the world, as per The Mail.
However, Ariana has previously expressed discomfort with imitators, calling such behavior “bizarre,” according to the British tabloid.
Paige’s weight loss controversy comes after the real Ariana ignited concerns over a drastic change in her physical appearance.
While some admired her transformation, others voiced concern over her noticeably thin frame
Last month, the Grammy Award winner was scrutinized when she posed for promotional photographs amid Wicked’s premiere.
At the time, the actress was wearing a strapless dress with a plunging neckline that drew attention to her clearly visible sternum.
The picture prompted concerns, as a viewer commented at the time: “She has always been small but looks skeletal.”
People speculated she may have intentionally lost weight to emulate the pop star’s appearance
“Her hair has also thinned out a lot,” one commenter said.
Moreover, at Wicked‘s Los Angeles premiere on November 9 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, a slew of fans were quick to notice what they labeled as an “anorexic” look.
Nevertheless, Ariana has since addressed the negative feedback about her body.
Ariana previously opened up about the toll the “horrible” public scrutiny of her appearance has taken
In a heartfelt interview with French journalist Salima Jeanne Poumbga, known as “Crazy Sally,” released on December 5, the songstress described enduring years of harsh commentary, likening it to being a “specimen in a petri dish.”
Ariana went on to tearfully open up about the toll of the “horrible” public scrutiny of her appearance, admitting she’s experienced it since she was a teenager, Bored Panda previously reported.
In the interview, which took place during her movie Wicked’s press tour, the 31-year-old singer was asked how she’s dealt with “beauty standards” and “critics” of her looks.
@paigeniemann hopping on this trend loll #cosplay #halloween #snl #snloween ♬ original sound – paige niemann
Paige first gained attention for her resemblance to the singer when she was 10 years old
@paigeniemann glinda cosplay 🫧🩷 #wicked #wickedmovie #glinda #cosplay ♬ original sound – emilio
Ariana emotionally replied: “My goodness. I’m not gonna—It’s just, it’s a good question. I’ve been doing this in front of the public, been a specimen in a petri dish, since I was 16 or 17.
“I have heard it all. I’ve heard every version of it, of what’s wrong with me. And then you fix it, then it’s wrong for different reasons.”
Bored Panda has contacted Paige Niemann for comment.
“She looks so unwell,” a reader commented
