Chicago, Illinois – Ariana Grande has broken her silence on her surprise decision to step out of the spotlight following her Eternal Sunshine tour.
The 33-year-old took a moment to address the recent drama during her Monday night show at Chicago’s United Center.
“The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing,” Grande clarified, per social media footage from the concert. “It is something that I had decided to plan.”
The Wicked star emphasized that the decision came from a “thoughtful and empowered place” and something she settled on “quietly” some time ago.
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She alluded to the “ongoing public scrutiny” cited in her team’s statement by addressing fans who feared “negativity” was “ruining” public life for her.
“This is not what that is. And I just want to be very, very clear: multiple things can be true at the same time. Boundaries need to be set, human beings can need a break sometimes, and also, this can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional and creative life,” Grande continued.
She went on to say that the negativity and scrutiny are “not mine to carry,” and gushed, “I needed to get out here and differentiate that from my truth for all of you because I love you and this tour has been the most healing, beautiful, corrective, magnificent, special experience of my life.”
On Sunday night, the singer’s rep revealed that she would be “taking a step back from visibility” after the tour wrapped up and had decided to drop out of her slated role in the West End revival of Sunday in the Park with George.
“She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny,” the statement said.
The timing of the news was particularly notable, as it came amid a wave of renewed concern over Grande’s apparent weight loss following the release of her petal music video on Friday.
Her team pushed back at the scrutiny, emphasizing that “there is a lot of athleticism” in Grande’s performances and she has been doing so “healthily and successfully” since the tour kicked off in June.
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Though she hasn’t commented outright on the latest wave of reactions, Grande did address similar scrutiny of her body back in 2023.
She emphasized that “healthy can look different” and told fans, “I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies – no matter what.”
