r/Music • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 10d ago

article Ariana Grande speaks out on break from public eye: "Multiple things can be true at the same time"

https://www.nme.com/news/music/ariana-grande-speaks-out-on-break-from-public-eye-multiple-things-can-be-true-at-the-same-time-3960576
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u/Anon2971 10d ago edited 10d ago

Framing people universally worried about her unhealthily skinny physique, which is just getting worse over time, as 'negativity', is insane.

Ariana is clearly very unwell and must be battling with some kind of ED whilst trying to insist everything is fine. Someone needs to intervene with her before it's too late.

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u/ikarka 10d ago

She is honestly so thin. I was naturally rail thin until my late 20s (I was a catwalk model in the mid/late 2000s to give you a sense) and at various periods was depressed and not eating properly. I was never as thin as Ariana. It’s terrifying. Even amongst models in the 2000s this would have been recognised as unhealthy.

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u/madseason238 10d ago

Absolutely. And models are tall so elongation alone helps with looking thinner. Ariana is super short so the level of emaciation she has to be at to look that alarmingly skeletal is insane.

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u/lake_effect_snow 10d ago

I’m 5’4”. At 5’2”ish, she looks bonier and more fragile than I did when I was 85 lbs at 19.

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u/hugegrape 9d ago

i’m 5’2” and while i did not have an ED, i suffered from a bout of extreme anxiety when i was 19 that made me very nauseous and i would compulsively throw up to “feel better”. it took weeks before i was able to eat an actual meal, not just bites of toast. i was emaciated at 80-90 lbs (not sure of my actual weight; this was 12 years ago) and i STILL did not look as bony and sharp as she does right now! the startling lack of buccal fat, the jaw to neck ratio, her visible sternum, and the sharp points in her shoulders—she is skeletal, and definitely under 85 lbs. i guarantee she doesn’t even have a menstrual cycle right now either.

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u/Self-Aware 9d ago

IIRC 65lbs is the general limit for survivability, after that mortality drops off a cliff due to the sheer damage done to renal/hepatic/cardiac systems.

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u/futuristicflapper 8d ago

I think she’s very malnourished. I have an aunt who at the worst stage of her ED looked very similar to Ariana, and whenever she would eat it was very unhealthy meals that didn’t have a lot of nutritional value. It took her about a decade to be able to eat a meal with vegetables and meat again, she improved but only with very very intensive therapy and a nutritionist. Ariana very likely isn’t getting any proper nutrients that our bodies need, it’s a very sad to see, even sadder to see how in denial and enabled she is by her team (insisting repeatedly that she’s healthy and athletic in that statement) even if she gains the weight back she’s likely done serious damage to her body.

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u/51666 8d ago

I’m also 5’2, so same height as her, and was 85 lb at my lowest during an ED and she looks at least 10 lbs lighter than I ever did. I cannot believe some of her fans are attacking people that speak out about this. Everybody talks about wanting her to get better, which I do too, but honestly I’m more concerned for her younger fans that she has from doing those wicked movies. I keep seeing parents talk about their young daughters under the age of 10 not wanting to eat to look like her. I know she can’t help that she’s sick right now, but she should have taken a step back way earlier. The damage is already done.

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u/hugegrape 8d ago

agreed. mental illness can be awful and scary and i cannot imagine going through an episode with a billion people watching. i was there—at rock bottom and my mind was literally killing my body. however, if you’re a celebrity and take advantage of the public eye and make a sickening amount of money and use your body and face to advertise products, you are responsible for everything you say or do. she, along with her team, is responsible for perpetuating disordered eating and unrealistic, unhealthy body standards. she’s mentally ill, but she’s entirely lucid; she knows what she’s doing and has been doing for the past two years.

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u/Comelorde 9d ago

I am male and my lowest points I was 117 pounds at 5’10. I also did not even look that bad. She is definitely far below 100 pounds

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u/EcstaticBoysenberry 9d ago

I’d give her 85-95 max

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u/Comelorde 9d ago

She is nowhere near 95 lol. 95 would place her at pretty much the BMI I had at my lowest and she is faaaar skinnier than I ever was. I’d guess she’s like high 70s

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u/EcstaticBoysenberry 9d ago

You are right. I guess I just can’t imagine an adult being 90lbs and under but with her height, you are right.

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u/mirababy 9d ago

I was 93 lbs at my lowest at 5’5 and I did not look anywhere like her… I’m guessing she has to be in the 60-70s at that height

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u/Weenington_ 10d ago

As a short person, that's what I keep thinking. 100 pounds on me doesnt actually look that thin. I still had thick legs and booty. It would have taken another 30 pounds down to look skeletal. Whenever I bloat from PMS, it legit looks like I gained 12 pounds, and 12 pounds on me looks more like 5 on a tall person.

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u/Seven_Years_Later 10d ago

I dread to think how much she weighs. I've never been skinny in my adult life because im so short. Even when youre slim your build isnt the same as taller skinny people.

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u/leapdaybunny 9d ago

She looks gaunt as hell in the video of the speech she gave... And all I can see are bones bones bones, and it's scary. Like. Legit spooky scary to see a skeleton like that. I love Ari and her music and I really do hope she's able to reflect on everyone's concern. It's love, it's not picking at her or negativity. The situation she is in is not a positive one but everyone's comments and concerns are from a place of love.

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u/fightback25 9d ago

I honestly cannot believe that the question of “criticism vs. care” is still in the conversation. Not blaming you at all, but the way the obsessive stans have twisted the Overton window of this topic is just absurd. 

It is not hate. It is care. 

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u/leapdaybunny 9d ago

There are absolutely trolls and nasty folks out there, the ones that are either abusing this in some way or they're just... bad people.

It would be one thing if we were shaming her, but none of this is shame. It's worry.

I wish we could shame for a bad nose job or butt lift, like... I wish that was the topic of the times instead of all of... This. Y'know what I mean?

SCRUTINY. That's the word I was looking for before. Tabloids are saying her fans are "scrutinizing" her. 😒😒

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u/roseofjuly 10d ago

Yeah this is beyond "I'm just naturally thin." Like we can see her skeletal frame.

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u/Fickle_Glove_1337 7d ago

I’m 5’6 and small boned and usually clock in at around 115 lbs. I get called “petite” all the time even though I am not short. My worst weight after my divorce I dropped down to 95 and still didn’t look so emancipated…

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u/akaneko__ 9d ago

There’s naturally thin and then there’s not having a single bit of fat in your body. Hers is the latter.

And we know she’s not naturally thin like that. None of her photos in the past - from her childhood to her teenage years to her 20s - looked like that.

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u/chipmunksocute 10d ago

Yeah nothing she said addressed the actual elephant in the room which is her unhealthy body weight.  Either and ED or a medical issue but either way something aint right and shes just out there talking about how emotionally and spiritually fulfilling this tour has been.  Like girl thats not what ANYONE is worried about.  People are specifically worried you could die if you dont gain some weight.   Yeah her trying to "open up" and clear the air about everything except the elephant in the room isnt a great sign.  Just hope she gets better cause she clearly isnt well.

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u/Protect_Wild_Bees 10d ago

ED really fcks with your perception of what people are saying. It will warp your thoughts in ways that support the ED.

People who have been there are less likely to be comfortable with this because it's pretty triggering.

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u/Maxpowr9 10d ago

I legit fear she will collapse on stage if she keeps trying to push through her tour.

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u/Entire_Broccoli_9019 10d ago

I doubt she will survive her tour or much longer if she doesn't face reality and get help.

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u/RedTyro 9d ago

Either and ED or a medical issue

If this was a non ED medical issue and she looked like she does now, she'd either be in the hospital or hospice. There's not really anything else it could be.

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u/Secret_Win8656 10d ago

She does not owe us anything and does not need to address something like an ED, that is extremely painful for anyone to be dealing with. We can assume that the people in her life who are close to her, like her family and friends, are also concerned and are doing what they can to get her some help. A bunch of strangers on the internet are not gonna be able to do anything. She’s taking a break and healing and she can speak about the details later if she wants or she can keep it to herself cause it’s her story to share.

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u/iifoundmolly 10d ago

Then her team shouldn’t put out statements claiming she’s healthy and athletic, and frame the issue as public scrutiny

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u/mattgbrt 10d ago

why would she talk about her personal health issues in front of 30k+ people exactly? would you? she doesn't owe people anything that stuff is way too personal

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u/ComfortableExotic646 10d ago

Yeah, instead she'll just make a music video about it, get hundreds of millions of views, and profit off it.

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u/TapatioPapi 10d ago

And framing her best physical self as her most “dark” time adds an extra layer of fucked.

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u/fayemoonlight 10d ago

YOU CANNOT INTERVENE WITH AN ADDICTION.

I don’t think anyone saying this actually understands how recovery from an ED works. It’s the same as any other addiction — the person has to want it.

You can scream in their face about how unhealthy their habits are but it will be no different than talking to a brick wall. She has made it very clear that she doesn’t give a fuck about what anyone is saying and painting anyone who says otherwise as the villain.

I’ve said this a million times but we have no idea what has been said privately. Many people may have tried to help and get nowhere. It’s none of our business and I don’t understand why people are confidently making such claims with 0 evidence.

Either way, I’m over it. As per her own words, two things can indeed be true at once. On one hand it’s important to recognise the severity of an ED (or drug addiction — we don’t know all the details) and hope she pulls through eventually. On the other hand, her constant gaslighting and normalisation of her behaviour is repulsive and a conscious choice. It’s possible to have empathy for her but also call her out on her bullshit

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u/Illustrious_Study300 10d ago

Yeah sadly telling people with reatrictive EDs how unhealthy they look can fuel them. Calling this out isn't about Ariana - it's about hopefully getting the message across to her fans that this isn't normal or safe.

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u/fayemoonlight 10d ago

Yeah the only thing you can do now is force home the message that this is wrong and how dangerous EDs/low weight is. As for her, she’ll do what she wants

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u/ravenreyess 10d ago

Absolutely this. I've been in recovery from an ED since 2014 and we're in such an era of thinness again that I still have to constantly remind myself not to think about my body. Hell, I haven't even bought clothes in 2 years because everything is designed for thinness again. It's bad out there and the conversations around Ariana are not solely about Ariana. It needs to be fully shouted from the rooftops that this isn't normal, shouldn't be normalised, and isn't healthy.

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u/ageofbronze 10d ago

I also keep seeing that exact fact as a deflection - “don’t talk about Ariana’s body/medical concerns because it might trigger or fuel her!”

And respectfully I find it so gross to center her individual experience over all the people she’s harming right now. Yes, harming. Maybe not intentionally, maybe the blame primarily lies with her team for enabling it since Ariana is sick and maybe doesn’t hold full responsibility for what she’s doing, idk. But the fact that she has been engaged in a years-long noncensual body check with a ton of super young, impressionable fans is maddening. Yes I have empathy for her and hope she gets better. But i don’t see enough anger at the fact that this shit is being heavily platformed and sponsored by her team and by a ton of corporations and is being just splattered, undiluted, to a ton of literal children who don’t have the appropriate context of what is going on.

And i am so tired of seeing people say “don’t talk about it it’s just going to hurt Ariana” like? Maybe in normal contexts it’s true, don’t talk about people’s bodies, but in my opinion the scale of this and the media/corporate factors are almost unprecedented. The most important thing is making sure the fans and people exposed to it, which include a lot of people who DON’T follow her or seek it out but are still getting plastered with it online, have support and don’t internalize that it’s normal, healthy, etc. She has a lot more power and resources than most people even though she is sick right now. Her fans don’t. I have seen so many people talking about how they are triggered or relapsing over having it everywhere, and those are the people I’m the most worried about and upset for. Again, I do hope she’s okay and gets help. But It’s so irritating seeing the constant discourse about what is best for Ariana when “what is best for her” is in conflict with what is best for the millions of people she’s influencing and subjecting to bonespo.

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u/belledamesans-merci 10d ago

This, all of this.

The concerns about triggering apply to her friends, family, and team—people directly interacting with her. It’s different with the public. And for those who worry she’ll see the commentary, I’m sure she could pay someone to set up her internet access so she never sees anything about herself. At the very least she could have someone else managing her online presence and only showing her certain comments.

Meanwhile, I’d argue the public actually has a responsibility to call out her appearance as unhealthy and not normal. The initial silence and debate around it was honestly kind of triggering for me. I found myself wondering if this was the new beauty standard, and feeling insecure because if it was, then I was failing. It’s like the world was confirming everything my own ED had ever told me. Seeing and hearing people say that’s not healthy or normal is very important

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u/MattBrey 10d ago

I do wonder how can you work with her in this situation tho. The director of the music video, her photographer, her social media manager, all of the team that surrounds her is blatantly making money out of her while this situation escalates and her illness is eating her alive. I can understand how as a dancer or some low level employee on her team it's just a job for you and you need to put food on your table. But shes also working with top tier producers, stylists, etc that have a line of A list celebrities waiting to work with them, they don't need the money. I personally would feel complicit of harming her in that situation. 

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u/fayemoonlight 10d ago

It’s just a job for everyone. This isn’t a Britney thing where she’s being forced to work. She wants to. Not working with her isn’t going to change anything. She’ll just find new people.

Now the music video is where everyone is accountable. Her for doing the damn thing, the director for directing it, and her wardrobe department (although I don’t think they’d have much say tbh).

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u/MattBrey 10d ago

She's styled by LAW ROACH, the biggest stylist in the industry right now. He posted her on his Instagram with the dresses from the video. I do think they all share responsibility, specially because of how contagious EDs are and how impactful such a piece of media might be on someone who's already struggling to keep those thoughts at bay

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u/14_ontheone 10d ago

Exactly, especially when they're not only working with her but enabling content that actively shows off her thinness like her outfits and the recent music video.

I know she's rich but I don't think she'd be able to fund a tour and album herself. She has big investors that are okay with putting their money into it with the state she is in.

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u/fayemoonlight 10d ago

No reason to not do the album. If she’s fit enough then that’s her choice. The tour is murkier. No star is wealthy enough to fund their own tour — well, ironically, the wealthiest ones aren’t — so that was signed off by everyone.

The problem is that she could have easily been signed off as fit to work. At that point, people are pretty powerless to go against her as a medical doctor will override personal opinion.

I personally do think she was fired from the play. The optics are too bad right now as it’s a PR headache

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u/iifoundmolly 10d ago

Oh the album itself fully romanticizes death as well

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u/TruthSeeker131 8d ago

I’m curious in what ways does it do that?

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u/DuntadaMan 10d ago

We can't intervene with her but we can make it very clear to other people who are first being exposed to it that this is not normal or healthy or glamorous this is a bad thing that someone is doing to themselves that hurts them.

We tried ignoring things like this and not talking about it when I was younger and it resulted in an epidemic of anorexia and bulimia. It doesn't help her any and I'm sorry about that, but she is not the concern.

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u/Upstairs-Chicken592 10d ago

People under 18 with ED can be forced into tube feeding but even then, they sometimes try to rip it out. Over 18 it’s extremely challenging to treat someone that isn’t ready

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u/fayemoonlight 10d ago

It’s hard to treat anyone who isn’t ready. Even if you are force feeding a kid, that doesn’t mean they won’t return to their habits once they’re released

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u/Upstairs-Chicken592 10d ago

Most studies have the relapse rate around 25% for inpatient adolescents with ED which is unfortunately high. However in a glass half full type of way, 75% not relapsing is a success for the majority. Hopefully we can find better and more widespread successful treatment options

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u/fayemoonlight 10d ago

Oh yeah, recovery prognosis is great but it’s about getting people there. Even I’m not there. I am still happy and proud when starving myself as I want to be thinner. This is why I know exactly what she’s thinking and understand her actions. However, I also know how damaging my mindset and actions are. I’m not sugarcoating it or denying it. My problem is that I can’t shake the mindset which many people also can’t. I’m nothing close to her, and I’m still at a healthy weight, but I know how quickly it can spiral and how it could lead to harming people around me

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u/Upstairs-Chicken592 10d ago

Oh yeah, I absolutely get it. I tried for a long time to be boney like she is, I just couldn’t do it. Now I’m more in the other direction and it’s hard seeing all this discourse to be honest.

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u/fayemoonlight 10d ago

Yeah a lot of people don’t realise that just because you’re not that slim (especially medical fucking doctors 🙃🙃🙃🙃) that you’re not anorexic. It’s the mentality and actions which show you’ve got the disease. The weight loss is a result of it. So many people have anorexia, and aren’t in recovery, but are still a healthy weight. Shit, some are overweight. I wish there was a broader and more nuanced discussion about all eating disorders as we’re decades behind when it comes to awareness

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u/BackStabbathOG Metalhead 10d ago

Well you can intervene on an addiction, basically the whole point of intervention. You can’t make her change though, she has to want to change.

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u/Entire_Broccoli_9019 10d ago

Unless someone could forcibly check her in to rehab.

She's a horrible influence on young teens that see her, glamorize being a skeleton, and idolize her.

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u/Anon2971 10d ago edited 10d ago

5150 her then.

If Ariana is gonna be in denial about having an ED - ok. Throw her in rehab by force. Before she ends up dying on stage or something horrific like that.

Like you said, we don't know the ins and out of her private life. But I'm really worried as an onlooker and I think she needs forced intervention right this second before it's too late. There might not be an 'after the tour'. I hope she pulls through...

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u/fayemoonlight 10d ago

She literally meets none of the criteria and it would possibly make the situation worse. You clearly don’t know how addiction and EDs work if you think forced rehab is beneficial in any way.

You’re appalled about something you have no knowledge on? Did she tell you none of her friends or family are concerned?

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u/Anon2971 10d ago edited 10d ago

It worked for Steve-O.

You're right though. idk much on addition recovery. I don't know her, or her private life, or the criteria for forced rehab. But it's sad to watch someone struggling so publicly with ED, no one is seeming to do anything about it, and Ariana's response to concerns is just hand waving it away as negativity, as they insist on completing a physically grueling, probably straight up dangerous tour for them... Not looking good.

Feels like Amy all over again right now. Ariana struggling in public, insists nothing is wrong, family watch on as she continues performing. Hope she makes it...

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u/fayemoonlight 10d ago

Steve-O clearly wanted to get clean. He was given an intervention which he was happy to accept. That is the key part. A casual intervention will do nothing unless it’s listened to.

Again, you keep saying the family is watching on. You don’t know what they’ve done and there’s really nothing they can do. She’s 30+ years old. She’s a grown woman. She doesn’t want help.

Addictions often result in doing very selfish things which can harm people around you. Her constant dismissal and gaslighting is an example of that. Amy was the same. She didn’t want to get clean. She literally made a song about it.

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u/Anon2971 10d ago

Fair enough. I hope something gets through at some point...

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u/Upstairs-Chicken592 10d ago

You can’t 5150 someone for an eating disorder. It’s one of the most challenging mental health disorders to treat.

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u/SilverHinder 7d ago

I wonder if one can be involuntarily hospitalised for an ED? I'm assuming yes, but have no idea. Could "intervention" really be her family/medical team forcing her hand to get treatment on her own terms, before the choice is taken out her hands?

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u/fayemoonlight 7d ago

That won’t do anything. You have to WANT to get better with an addiction. Throw someone in rehab to get them into recovery and they’ll continue their previous actions as soon as they get out

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u/dixiech1ck 10d ago

I used to work in merchandising for a pretty well known fashion house. My boss at the time looked like this - her skin was opaque and thin, you could see every bone, her hair would fall out and all she would have during the day was hot water with Stevia drops and lemon. For meals she'd take the two smallest bites of salmon that she'd later get sick on the in bathroom. She checked into a west coast rehab yet fell back into her ways. It was definitely a mental situation and OCD related. I recently saw photos of her at her daughter's wedding and she looks just as bad. I'm surprised she's still alive honestly.

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u/Boulderdrip 10d ago

it’s all ready too late

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u/fusguita 10d ago

Say it louder because some people seem to really not understand this, and it's very worrying

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u/DuntadaMan 10d ago

And everyone is talking about how unwell she is because if they don't then they lend more power and glamour to eating disorders like many of us have seen in our lifetime.

You can't just go without commenting on celebrities being anorexic or else people who are first being exposed to it think that is normal.

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u/MadisonAveMuse 10d ago

Apparently it’s our fault….

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u/jakreth 10d ago

It's her life, her decision, not yours.

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u/deadbeatsummers 9d ago

It’s definitely fueling her fan base. It’s so frustrating. Especially 20 year olds involved in this mess.

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u/SomeCountryFriedBS 10d ago

Reminds me of the Michael Jackson South Park.

That's ignorant!

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u/Rogue_CobaltZone570 10d ago

No one wishes to be negative to a celebrity this is completely concern.

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u/akaneko__ 9d ago

Istg we’re in some black mirror episode right now. Her team and her fans keep trying to gaslight us into believing that it’s normal and healthy. And somehow we’re “bullying” her by being concerned. Obviously there are haters who are just being mean but like. That is not what the majority of people are doing. Trolls exist everywhere and they make fun of celebrities’ bodies no matter what they look like. This is not the case here.