Ariana Grande Speaks Out About Fans’ Concerns Over Her Body, Calling for People to Stop Body Shaming
In a candid TikTok, Ariana Grande spoke openly about the comments fans have been making about her body, both recently and over the course of the last decade. Grande wrote on her TikTok,“You have talked a lot about it [my body] over the past decade or longer so I’d like to join in this time. :)”
In her remarks, she urged people gently to stop commenting on people’s bodies generally and revealed that behind the scenes, what some fans consider her “healthiest” body was far from it.
“I know personally for me, the body that you have been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body,” she said. “I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy but that in fact wasn’t my healthy. And I know I shouldn’t have to explain that but I thought that maybe having an openness and some kind of vulnerability here would be—that something good might come from it, I don’t know. But that’s the first thing: Healthy can look different.”
“The second thing is you never know what someone is going through,” she continued. “So even if you are coming from a loving place and a caring place, that person is probably working on it or has a support system that they are working on it with, and you never know.”
You can read and watch her full remarks below. Grande has been busy shooting Wicked, making this a very rare but important social media appearance for the singer.
Hi everyone. I have made my coffee; I’m on my way to work soon. I just wanted to come on, and I don’t do this often. I don’t like it. I’m not good at it. I don’t like—I’m not good at it, and I don’t like it 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. I think we could be—I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies no matter what. If you think you’re saying something good-or well-intentioned, whatever it is: healthy, unhealthy, big, small, this, that, sexy, not sexy, we just shouldn’t. We should really work toward not doing that as much. There are ways to compliment someone or to ignore something you see and you don’t like that I think we should help each other work toward, just to aim toward being safer and keeping each other safer.
But I just also wanted to say, one: There are many different kinds of beautiful. There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful. I know personally for me, the body that you have 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 and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy but that in fact wasn’t my healthy. And I know I shouldn’t have to explain that but I thought that maybe having an openness and some kind of vulnerability here would be—that something good might come from it, I don’t know. But that’s the first thing: Healthy can look different.
The second thing is you never know what someone is going through. So even if you are coming from a loving place and a caring place, that person is probably working on it or has a support system that they are working on it with, and you never know. So be gentle with each other and with yourselves.
And thirdly, the third one’s unrelated I guess. I just wanted to extend some love your way and tell you that you’re beautiful no matter what phase you’re in. By the way, I’m not wearing eyelashes or eyeliner right now. This is my face. These are my eyes, so don’t freak out about that now too please, oh my god. But yeah, sending you guys a lot of love, and I think you’re beautiful, no matter what you’re going through, no matter what weight, no matter how you like to do your makeup these days, no matter what cosmetic procedures you’ve had or not or anything. I just think you’re beautiful and wanted to share some feelings. Have a very beautiful day, and I’m sending you a lot of love.
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
