{"id":581523,"date":"2026-08-03T09:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T09:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/581523\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T09:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T09:41:08","slug":"ariana-grande-to-take-a-step-back-from-public-life-due-to-endless-ongoing-scrutiny-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/581523\/","title":{"rendered":"Ariana Grande to take \u2018a step back\u2019 from public life due to \u2018endless, ongoing scrutiny\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ariana Grande<\/a> has announced plans to take a break from public-facing work after her tour ends due to \u201cendless, ongoing public scrutiny\u201d. <\/p>\n

She is pulling out of the upcoming London revival of Sunday in the Park With George.<\/p>\n

The pop singer was due to appear opposite her Wicked costar Jonathan Bailey in a new production of Stephen Sondheim\u2019s critically acclaimed musical at the Barbican in 2027.<\/p>\n

A representative for Grande told People: \u201cAriana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunday in the Park With George will go ahead as planned and Grande\u2019s part will be recast, the production company Empire Street Productions said.<\/p>\n

A statement to the Press Association said: \u201cEmpire Street Productions have said following this evening\u2019s announcement from Ariana Grande\u2019s team, we can confirm that she has decided to step back from Sunday in the Park with George.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grande\u2019s announcement came days after she released the music video for Petal, the title single from her newly released eighth studio album, which sparked speculation about her weight loss and her health.<\/p>\n

One of her new songs, Like I Do, includes a possible dig at years of headlines about her weight: \u201cI\u2019ve got shit to talk, keeps me well fed.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a 2024 interview she was asked by a journalist how she handled the pressure \u201cto always look perfect\u201d.<\/p>\n

She described herself as being \u201ca specimen in a Petri dish since I was 16 or 17. I have heard it all. I have heard every form of what is wrong with me. And then you fix it and then it is wrong for different reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cIt is hard to protect yourself from that noise. I think that it\u2019s something that is uncomfortable no matter what scale you\u2019re experiencing it on.\u201d Comments about weight could be \u201cuncomfortable\u201d and \u201chorrible\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what you are wearing, to your body, to your face, to your everything \u2013 there is a comfortability that people have commenting on that that I think is really dangerous. I think it is dangerous for all parties involved.\u201d <\/p>\n

Grande shared the interview again on her social media in November, \u201cas a loving reminder to all\u201d.<\/p>\n

Grande has won three Grammy awards in a music career that took off in 2013 after the release of her debut album, Yours Truly.<\/p>\n

She was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Glinda in the big-screen adaptation of Wicked. \u2013 Guardian\/additional reporting: PA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ariana Grande has announced plans to take a break from public-facing work after her tour ends due to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[8420,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-581523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ariana-grande","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}