Wicked's Ariana Grande calls out "dangerous" criticism of her body and appearance

6 December 2024, 12:37

By Sam Prance

Ariana Grande is speaking out against "the comfortability" we have in commenting on other people's looks and weight.

Ariana Grande has called out people who've been commenting on her looks and body-shaming her in a new interview.

Ariana Grande is no stranger to speaking out against body-shaming. In 2023, Ariana posted a TikTok video asking her fans and people at large to stop discussing her weight. She said: "I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies." She also said: "There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful."

Since the Wicked press tour began, Ariana has been back in the public eye and wowing viewers with her incredible performance as Glinda in the movie. However, as she's been doing red carpets and interviews, even more people have begun commenting on her appearance. Now, Ariana's spoken out against the "dangerous" discourse.

• Read more: Wicked's Ariana Grande reveals iconic line was replaced until she fought to keep it
• Read more: Wicked's Ariana Grande explains why she uses her real name in the credits

Behind the scenes of Wicked with Ariana Grande

In a new video with French journalist Sally, Ariana was asked how she copes with beauty standards, people criticising her looks and the "overwhelming" pressure for women to always look perfect. Ariana then responded: "My goodness. I'm not gonna..."

She then started tearing up before thanking Sally and saying: "It's a good question."

Ariana then explained: "I've been doing this in front of the public. I’ve been a specimen in a petri-dish since I was 16 or 17, so I’ve heard it all. I’ve heard every version of ‘what’s wrong’ with me. Then you fix it, and then it’s wrong for different reasons. It's hard to protect yourself from that noise."

She added: "It's something that is uncomfortable no matter what scale you're experiencing it on. Even if you go to Thanksgiving dinner and someone's granny says, 'Oh my God, you look skinnier, what happened?' or 'You look heavier, what happened?' That is uncomfortable and horrible no matter where it's happening.

Talking about the way people discuss other people's bodies, Ariana said: "There's a comfortability people have commenting on that that I think is really dangerous and I think it’s dangerous, for both parties involved."

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A post shared by Sally aka Crazy Sally (@sally)

As for how she copes with the criticism, Ariana said: "I'm really lucky to have the support system that I have to know and trust that I'm beautiful. But I do know what the pressure of that noise feels like, it's been a resident in my life since I was 17. I just don't invite it in anymore. It's not welcome. I have work to do, I have a life to live."

Giving advice to her fans, Ariana continued: "Protect yourselves from that noise. Whether it's at a family reunion or online, if you have to block people, I don't care. If you have to delete the app entirely."

She ended by saying: "You keep yourself safe because no one has the right to say s---. Can you tell I needed that today?"

Read more about Wicked here:

• Wicked director explains why he almost didn't cast Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande
• Wicked fans are obsessed with Ariana Grande's huge lyric change in 'Popular'
• Wicked director explains why they cut iconic Glinda line from the film
• Wicked's Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande say Elphaba and Glinda are queer
• Every actress who auditioned for Glinda in the Wicked movie

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