Jameela Jamil calls out Ariana Grande's team over music video as singer announces step back from public eye
Warning: This article contains discussion of eating disorders which some readers may find distressing.
Jameela Jamil has criticised Ariana Grande's team over the singer's highly anticipated 'Petal' music video, claiming the star was 'possibly dying right in front of us'.
It comes after the musician's team announced she would be stepping away from the public eye after her tour wraps up on 1 September.
She's also pulled out of her highly anticipated West End debut, in which she was set to star alongside her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey.
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Released last Friday (31 July), the music video for Grande's new song 'Petal' has amassed nine million views in a matter of days.
It's pretty graphic and has caught the attention of eagle-eyed fans worldwide. Starting with a stark warning of 'explicit content' and 'graphic violence', the video appears to reflect on the 33-year-old's own journey to fame in music, TV and film.
It's a biting critique of the way the entertainment industry treats female stars, but many fans commenting on the video expressed concern for the singer's health.
A representative for Grande told PEOPLE: “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."
Following this, actress Jameela Jamil issued her own thoughts in a story on her social media account.
In her post, she argued Grande's team could have protected the star rather than amplify the public discussion about her appearance. Her comments came after the 'Petal' music video sparked further widespread discussion about the singer's body image.
"This poor woman is possibly dying right in front of us," Jamil previously wrote. "This outfit is designed to accentuate the thinness for discourse. Her team are thoroughly irresponsible for not guiding her away from this deeply damaging image for her young fans to see so glamorized.
"The shrinking pop star situation is something of a trolley problem. If we comment on her body, we could harm her mental health, which would be awful, and nobody wants that.
"If we don't comment on her body, we run the risk of normalising that image to hundreds of millions of teenage girls, kids and even impressionable adults, consuming her content. Content which is pointedly accentuating her bones and tiny frame with belts and corsets.
"I think it's worth considering that the pop star in question has access to a lot of mental health care and the best facilities on the planet, where as the fans watching, largely don't.
"Many have no support system equipped to handle the deadly clutches of anorexia. Her most recent images are flooding pro- anorexia websites and teenage girls are saying 'goals.'
"When will it be time to intervene as a public and stop normalising, glamorising, and on some occasions championing this? When we lose a young woman in the public eve?"
She then added: "Sending everyone love, and if you're triggered or inspired by imagery of skin and bones on your favourite popstar please have a look at the work of @neda or @alliancefored."
Jameela clarifies comments after backlash
However, following the post, Jamil then added further comments after receiving backlash online, clarifying that she used the word 'possibly' when discussing Grande and that she suffered with anorexia in the past herself, adding: "Trying to use this as a b****fight is DISGUSTING."
She commented: "My point stands, that this is deeply irresponsible for all the people involved to deliver this aesthetic as glamorous to the many billions of girls and women consuming this imagery.
"I feel extremely bad for Ariana having almost died of anorexia myself. And it was only due to the people around me intervening INSENSITIVELY once I willfully ignored (and sort of enjoyed) their careful concern, that l survived.
"I don't know Ariana and pray she recovers. I don't think she's in the comments sections of tiny posts, but young girls watching are, and we need to signal to THEM that this is not the time to pretend this is ok, just because 'we shouldn't talk about other people's bodies'."
Ariana's representatives revealed that the star, 33, had dropped out of the upcoming London revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical Sunday In The Park With George, in which she was due to appear opposite her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey at the Barbican in 2027.
A representative for Grande said: “Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour.
“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.
“This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”
Empire Street Productions said Grande made the decision to quit the London play 'with our complete understanding and support'.
A statement added: “We wish her nothing but the best. The production will open at the Barbican in summer 2027 as planned, and casting will be announced in due course.”
Viewers spot harrowing detail in new Ariana Grande music video
Directed by Christian Breslauer, in 'Petal', Grande plays the naive but hopeful character of Pepper, arriving at 'Fame Inc' to audition for a part certain to launch her to superstardom.
She suffers rejection after rejection at the hands of the old men in suits, despite her increasingly raunchy attempts, and on the fourth go, the producers interrupt and label her as 'unmarketable,' 'unattractive' and 'inauthentic'.
With one last cruel joke at her expense, Pepper snaps and slaughters the four rude execs with a chainsaw massacre straight out of a horror film, leaving her drenched in blood.
Fans even spotted a hidden message in one short clip with an audition slip that appears to read: “Lovely voice, very kind but - nothing special. boring on the eyes. a little homely! couldn’t hurt to lose a few LBS"
Fans were quick to spot the detail, even though it only appears on screen for a couple of seconds.
One fan writing on X said: "I feel like she’s pulling real comments she’s gotten from the public for this bc i swear i’ve read these exact words over the years."
Supporters showed sympathy, too, writing: "oh poor Ari:(" and "she truly deserves the biggest apology."
Representatives for Ariana Grande and Jameela Jamil have been approached by LADbible.
PR expert speaks out on 'narrative' created by music video
PR expert Lauren Beeching has told LADbible that she has helped clients 'step back' from public life without issuing statements, adding that Ariana's team may wish to 'establish a particular narrative' by explaining her absence.
"In that context, saying she intends to finish the tour 'healthily and happily' feels pointed rather than incidental," she explained. "It puts health directly into a conversation already dominated by her appearance and invites people to debate whether the word is accurate.
"Health can’t be reliably inferred from somebody’s body in either direction, which is exactly why I don’t think her team should have made it part of the framing. If the intention was to end the speculation, it may have achieved the opposite.
"It’s also important to distinguish between abuse and concern. I’ve no doubt Ariana is receiving genuinely appalling messages, and I don’t underestimate the impact of that. However, many of the most prominent comments beneath the Petal video appear to be from people expressing concern rather than simply trying to be cruel. That doesn’t automatically make commenting on her body appropriate or helpful, but it is an important distinction."
Touching on comments made about Ariana's body and public appearance, Beeching said that her new 'Petal' music video was bound to continue conversation. She explained: "Comments about Ariana’s appearance have followed her for years, and she has spoken very thoughtfully about how damaging that can be.
"Against that background, I find the decision to release this particular video difficult to understand. The reaction was entirely predictable. Anyone responsible for her communications, creative output or welfare should have anticipated that the imagery would bring the existing conversation roaring back.
"A team at this level isn’t only there to promote the work. It should be asking how that work is likely to land, what conversation it might create and what the person at the centre of it will then have to absorb. I wouldn’t have signed off the video in this form, not because Ariana should be hidden from view, but because it was almost guaranteed to intensify the scrutiny that her team now says is affecting her.
"Her team can’t control everything the public says, and they aren’t responsible for abusive messages. They are responsible for the content they approve and the language they use afterwards. Releasing a video likely to reignite a long-running and sensitive conversation, then invoking “health” while criticising the resulting scrutiny, feels contradictory and, in my view, irresponsible."
Topics: Ariana Grande, Celebrity News, Music, US News, Film
James Holt