Ariana Grande confronted critics of her appearance in a joint interview with her Wicked costar, Cynthia Erivo, and her impassioned and articulate response is so satisfying to watch.
French content creator Crazy Sally sat down with the pair during the Wicked press tour, where she asked about the pressures women face to be perfect at all times, especially with regards to their appearance. The question clearly stirred some emotions in Grande, and after taking a beat to compose herself, she opened up about growing up in the spotlight, and how draining she finds tuning out the constant discussion about her face and body.
“I’ve been doing this in front of the public and been a specimen in a petri dish really since I was 16 or 17. I have heard it all,” she begins. “I’ve heard every version of it—of what’s wrong with me. And then you fix it, and it’s wrong for different reasons.”
The 31-year-old got her start as a teen star on Nickelodeon sitcoms Victorious and Sam & Cat, and, like many other pop stars before her, has reinvented her image several times throughout her career. Though she experiences more pressure than most, Grande adds that learning to protect yourself can be difficult “no matter the scale.”
“It’s hard to protect yourself from that noise,” she says. “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?’”
Grande also appears to reference some recent “concerns” about her weight online, where TikTok conspiracy theorists claim she’s unhealthily thin. “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, from what you’re wearing to your body to your face to your everything,” Grande continues. “There’s a comfortability people have commenting on that that I think is really dangerous, and I think it’s dangerous for all parties involved.”
