Ariana Grande speaks out for first time after announcing break from public eye amid 'ongoing public scrutiny'

Ariana Grande has spoken out for the first time since it was announced she’d be ‘taking a step back’ from the public eye amid ‘endless ongoing public scrutiny’.

On Sunday, a rep for the star revealed that Grande, 33, would be taking a ‘much-deserved break’ following the conclusion of her Eternal Sunshine Tour in London next month.

“Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour,” the rep 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.”

Last night, Grande took to the stage for the first of three performances at Chicago’s United Center, where she took time to address her upcoming break.

“So basically, the announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing,” she said in a clip shared on X.

'Boundaries need to be set'

“It is something that I had decided to plan that I had quietly made a long time ago and it’s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place. And I want you to know many things can be true at the same time."

Grande then attempted to set the record straight on a few things.

“I heard that my fans were worried that negativity was ruining things for me, but I just have to say that could not be more the f**k opposite," she said to loud applause and cheers.

"Honestly, this is not what that is. And I just want to be very, very clear: multiple things can be true at the same time. Yes, boundaries, they need to be set. Human beings can need a break sometimes."

'The rest of that s**t is not mine to carry'

She went on: "And also, this can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional and creative life. No matter what noises exist out there, nothing will ever be able to distort my reality or be more real to me or elaborate to me than this love that we share.

“The rest of that s**t is not mine to carry, so I don’t carry it. I need to get out here and differentiate that from my truth for you all because I love you and this tour has been the most healing, beautiful, corrective, magnificent, special experience of my life.”

Grande’s decision to take a break comes just days after the singer released her eighth album Petal, and also dropped the music video for her new track of the same name.

The video, which kicks off with 'graphic violence' warning, sees Grande playing a character called Pepper, who goes through a series of gruelling Hollywood auditions and facing rounds of rejections and nasty comments before eventually snapping and brutally butchering the execs with a chainsaw.

However, the new video renewed the discourse surrounding Grande’s health, with Jameela Jamil taking aim at the singer’s team.

Ariana Grande pulls out of the West End's Sunday in the Park with George

With the news of her impending break released on Sunday, it has since been revealed that Grande had pulled out of the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, where she was set to appear alongside her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey.

The show is set to open in the Barbican next summer.

Empire Street Productions, which is behind the musical, said in a statement: “Following this evening’s announcement from Ariana Grande’s team, we can confirm that she has decided to step back from Sunday In The Park With George.

“We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support.

"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.”

Grande was just 16 when she shot to fame playing Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon show Victorious and she has been in the public eye ever since.

After leaving Nickelodeon, she carved out a very impressive music career, winning three Grammy awards.

She then returned to acting playing Glinda the good, in Wicked opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba.

Her performance in the flick earned Grande an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

All the times Ariana Grande has hit back at critics

Shutting down misogynistic body-shamers - 'Other people’s bodies are not yours to objectify'

Grande told the trolls to 'unfollow' her if they had only nasty comments to make in 2015.

As negative comments piled up under an Instagram post, she wrote: "P.s. if you're a misogynistic body-shamer, please unfollow! Other people's bodies are not yours to objectify / judge, even when photos are posted on a social media platform.

"I like my lil body! thank you!"

Defending women's right to expression and sexuality - 'Women can love their bodies too'

In 2016, shortly after the release of the music video for 'Dangerous Woman', a so-called fan decided to leave a comment on Grande's Facebook post to call her a derogatory slur over the way she looked in the video.

Grande herself replied, saying: "When will people stop being offended by women showing skin / expressing sexuality? Men take their shirts off / express their sexuality on stage, in videos, on Instagram, anywhere they want to... all. the. time.

"The double standard is so boring and exhausting. With all due respect, I think it's time you get your head out of your ---. Woman can love their bodies too!!"

Calling out men who objectify her - 'I am not a piece of meat'

Taking to Twitter (now known as X) in 2016, Grande wrote in a candid note: "Went to pick up food with my boyfriend tonight and a young boy followed us to the car to tell Mac that he's a big fan," referencing her ex Mac Miller, who sadly died in 2018.

"I thought all of this was cute and exciting until he said, 'Ariana is sexy as hell man I see you, I see you hitting that!' *pause*. Hitting that?"

"This may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but I felt sick and objectified," she went on to share. "Things like this happen all the time and are the kinds of moments that contribute to women's sense of fear and inadequacy.

"I am not a piece of meat that a man gets to utilize for his pleasure. It hurts my heart that so many young people are so comfortable... using these phrases and objectifying women with such ease."

"We need to talk about these moments openly because they are harmful and they live inside us in shame. We are not objects or prizes. We are QUEENS."

Addressing fan speculation over her body image - 'There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful'

In 2023, in the midst of filming as Glinda for Wicked, Grande took to TikTok to post a candid video addressing speculation and negative comments on her body and health.

"I just wanted to address your concerns about my body and talk a little bit about what it means to be a person with a body and to be seen and to be paid such close attention to," she said.

"I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people's bodies, no matter what. If you think you're saying something good or well intentioned, whatever it is: healthy, unhealthy, big, small, this, that, sexy, not sexy...we just shouldn't.

"We should really work towards not doing that as much."

She went on: "There are many different kinds of beautiful. There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful. The body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body."

Firing back at criticism over the change in her voice - 'When it’s a male actor that does it, it’s acclaimed'

Grande's speaking voice changed to a noticeably lighter and breathier register during and after the filming of both Wicked films - something she was sadly trolled and criticised for.

Hitting back while speaking to Vanity Fair in 2024 alongside her co-star Cynthia Erivo, Grande said: "There is a part of the world that isn’t familiar with what it takes to transform your voice, whether it’s singing or taking on a different dialect for a role or doing a character voice for something.

"When it’s a male actor that does it, it’s acclaimed. There are definitely jokes that are made as well, but it’s always after being led with praise: ‘Oh, wow, he was so lost in the role’.

"And that’s just a part of the job, really. Tale as old as time being a woman in this industry. You are treated differently, and you are under a microscope in a way that some people aren’t."

She also took to TikTok to address the matter further, saying: "I intentionally change my vocal placement (high/low) often depending on how much singing I’m doing. I’ve always done this BYE."