A representative for Ariana Grande has said the singer will pull back from public appearances once she finishes the Eternal Sunshine Tour, according to reports. The news comes after weeks of online debate over the artist’s appearance and health, although the representative didn’t elaborate on the nature of the scrutiny.
“Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour,” the representative told media outlets. “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 statement also emphasized the positive experience the artist had on the tour, which is said to be rewarding for her. “This tour has been a beautiful experience for her,” it added. “She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”
The Eternal Sunshine Tour will be concluding on September 1. Moreover, Grande is also reported to leave her role in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park With George.” However, she will still be doing some promotional work for the upcoming film “Focker-in-Law” towards the end of the year.
One of the more vocal commentators in the debate is the actress Jameela Jamil, who has reiterated her statements regarding the singer’s appearance.
Jamil’s original comments were made in a deleted Instagram post, where she claimed that the outfit worn by the singer in her newly released “Petal” music video is meant to accentuate the singer’s thinness for the sake of discussion.
“This poor woman is possibly dying right in front of us,” Jamil 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.”
After receiving criticism for her remarks, the actress returned to the topic and clarified her wording, arguing that her statements are not an attack on Grande herself. In addition, she mentioned her own history with an eating disorder.
“I said possibly. My god. And 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. Trying to use this as a b*tch fight is DISGUSTING and missing the point. Making you part of the problem,” Jamil wrote. “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 I survived. I don’t know Ariana and pray she recovers.”
Jamil continued by saying that her remarks are targeted more at the viewers of the coverage rather than Grande herself, and compared the reaction to images of malnourished children in other parts of the world.
“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,'” Jamil wrote. “This is the same imagery we are allowed to respond to with sadness and horror when it’s on a child in Gaza. We do not pretend then that it is not appropriate to comment on how thin they are. We don’t have to pretend we are blind because it’s a pop star.”
Jamil also pointed out the consequences of staying silent, using the example of the singer Karen Carpenter, who died in 1983 due to heart failure associated with anorexia. Going back to the music video, she said that the styling itself is the signal of the intention, and concluded with a question to the entire industry.
“Everyone is killing her by normalizing this. Silence is complicity when it gets this far. Look at Karen Carpenter,” Jamil wrote. “The accentuating of the thinness with the outfit is how we can guess this is likely not some physical ailment. This is a statement. One that can harm little girls everywhere. Which I don’t think she would ever want for them. Are we waiting for a star to die before we admit the beauty standard is out of control?”
Jamil’s remarks followed the Instagram post by model and writer Charli Howard about the same music video. Howard, who has talked about her eating disorders in the past, started by talking about her own recovery and lingering questions.
“I don’t speak about my previous eating disorders much anymore. I have come on leaps and bounds since then, but weight loss still lingers at the back of my mind, especially as I have gained weight over the last 18 months,” Howard wrote. “Will being thinner make me happier? Will it bring me relief, a partner, love, contentment? Deep down, and after years of therapy & recovery, I know this isn’t true. But other women and girls do not.”
She argued that the gap in understanding is the reason why the imagery deserves to be discussed, and described the response to recent images of Grande as split between concern and dismissal.
“I think it’s vital we discuss imagery/videos/content like these and the damage they can and will have on women and girls. WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS NOT NORMAL,” she wrote. “Over the past few weeks, as images of Ariana’s concert get plastered around online, I obviously see comments from worried fans, but I also see other people convincing others that she looks ‘healthy’, or that she has simply ‘lost puppy fat’. Some even make jokes about it.”
However, her views differ, and she described the long-term effects she saw the illness had on other women she knew.
“What I see is someone in desperate need of hospitalisation and care, and while I know it’s often impossible to help someone at this stage of anorexia, there HAS to be an immediate intervention,” Howard wrote. “Over the years, I have met numerous women who have almost died from the disease, women who will spend their lives fighting demons that tell them they are worthless and ugly. These are women that can never have children; women who starve themselves as a means to starve away any shame or inner pain they may be experiencing.”
The sharpest critique came from Howard regarding the release itself, claiming that the responsibility goes beyond the artist and includes her family and management teams.
“I think it is absolutely appalling, from both a moral and capitalistic standpoint, to have released these videos and an album when this person needs psychiatric help and hospitalisation. The teams involved should be absolutely ashamed,” she wrote. “What’s disappointing is that it takes teams, often hundreds, of people to approve videos like these and get them over the line. Each and every one of you, including her family and management, are enabling this person and encouraging her illness when she needs help.”
She ended her post with a call for the artist to get some time away from work and have the content removed. “I truly, truly hope she gets the help that she so desperately needs. We do not need a repeat of the early 2000s,” Howard wrote. “We need to support & help this woman; give her rest and time to recover instead of putting her on stage; and remove this content immediately.”
Watch Ariana Grande’s music video that Jameela Jamil and Charli Howard are discussing below.
