Ariana Grande took a break from filming Wicked to address body-shaming comments and speculation about her weight that she recently received online.
“I just wanted to come on and… I don’t do this often. I don’t like it, I’m not good at it, but 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,” Ariana began her 3-minute-long TikTok video Tuesday (April 11).
“I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what,” she continued.
The star went on to directly address body-shaming comments that she’s been getting online due to her slight change in appearance, which includes dyeing her hair platinum blonde and bleaching her eyebrows while filming her role as Glinda in Wicked.
“One, there are many different kinds of beautiful. There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful,” the “positions” singer said, adding, “Personally, for me, the body that you have been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body. I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy.”
READ MORE: Ariana Grande Details ‘Life-Changing’ ‘Wicked’ Filming
The star was seemingly referring to her thank u, next era when she was on tour.
“I know I shouldn’t have to explain that. But I do feel like maybe having some sort of vulnerability here… Something good might come from it,” she continued.
Ariana noted that even commenting on something you think is “good” or “well-intentioned” can have a negative effect, and that “we should work toward not doing that” to be “safer.”
“The second thing is you never know what someone’s going through. You never know, so be gentle with each other,” Ariana shared.
“By the way, I’m not wearing eyelashes or eyeliner right now. This is my face, these are my eyes, so don’t freak out about that now too, please, oh my God,” she added, concluding her video by letting her audience know they are all beautiful “no matter what.”
Watch below:
Ariana’s rare video message was met with thousands of supportive comments and a flood of heart emojis from fans and TikTok creators, including popular TikTok personality Chris Olsen, who wrote, “We love you ALWAYS.”
Ariana has been staying largely out of the public eye as she films Wicked, which releases in 2024, only sharing occasional updates via Instagram and TikTok.
However, she recently broke her “Ozian bubble” for a remix of The Weeknd‘s “Die For You.”