Ariana Grande is one of the most talked-about people in the world, with the 31-year-old front and centre in 2024. This is particularly true since the record-breaking release of Wicked, with Grande and Cynthia Erivo dominating the headlines.
It was Ariana Grande’s powerful words on the negative side of fame that got the world talking this week, as the pair were asked about online bullying, particularly in regards to their appearances.
“I’ve been kind of doing this in front of the public… a specimen in a petri dish really since I was 16 or 17. So I have heard it all,” Grande explained. “I’ve heard every version of it, of what’s wrong with me. And then you fix it and then it’s wrong for different reasons but that’s everything from even just the simple thing, your appearance, you’re young and you’re hearing all those things.”
She continued: “It’s hard to protect yourself from that noise. And it’s something that’s uncomfortable no matter what scale you’re experiencing on.”
“There’s a comfortability that people have commenting on that that I think is really dangerous. And I think it’s dangerous for all parties involved,” she later added.
Going on to talk about overcoming the negativity, Grande continued: “I just don’t invite it in anymore, it’s not welcome. I have work to do, I have a life to live, I have friends to love on, I have so much love! And it’s not invited, I don’t leave space for it anymore.
“And however you all can protect yourselves from that noise, whether it’s at a family reunion or online… I don’t care if you have to delete your app entirely, you keep yourself safe because no one has the right to say shit.”
Grande’s co-star Cynthia Erivo has also opened up about the negative comments faced by the 31-year-old.
“Cyberbullying is quite dangerous,” Erivo explained to The Hollywood Reporter this week. “It’s easy to be behind a computer and type words about a person you don’t know.”
She continued: “The more we can protect ourselves…[and] a person who is going through that is really to try and counterpoint whatever is coming at that person…. Be the voice that says the positive.”
Well, that’s that.