Fans have expressed fresh concerns for singer Ariana Grande as new photos of the star, currently on a career hiatus, have surfaced online.
Grande, 33, is currently on a self-imposed break from the spotlight, following public speculation about her tiny frame. The July 31 release of the music video for her song Petal shocked many: It showed Grande looking thinner than ever, her bones visible under her skin as she danced in a low cut dress.
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Following the uproar over the video, Grande cancelled a starring role in a West End show booked for 2027 and announced she’d be taking a career break after wrapping her tour on September 1.
Now, new photos of Grande, taken by her rekindled old flame Ricky Alvarez, have fans concerned once more.
The photos show Grande smiling, wearing a check-print dress – and, according to some fans, appearing alarmingly frail and childlike.
“This is not okay,” wrote one commenter under Alvarez’s post.
“It’s giving toddler,” another wrote.
“Is she trying to look like a little girl?” asked one fan, while another declared the collection of photos – which bizarrely, ended with a close-up photo of a razorblade – as “so dark.”
“Why is she dressing like a little child?” read another top-rated comment.
Grande has apparently rekindled her former romance with back-up dancer Alvarez in the wake of the breakdown of her relationship with her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater. The pair had first dated a decade ago, when Alvarez was a back-up dancer on Grande’s Honeymoon tour.
Grande’s team issued a statement four days after the release of the Petal video triggered a public outcry, declaring that the star would soon be taking a break.
“Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour,” Grande’s rep told People in early August.
“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 rep continued.
A day later, Grande addressed the concerns directly during her next concert.
“So basically, the announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing,” she told the crowd at Chicago’s United Centre.
“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 told the crowd that she was speaking out to end speculation she was forced to take a break from her career due to a tidal wave of fears for her health and wellbeing.
“I want to share this because 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 stressed.
“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.
“And also, this can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional and creative life.”