Ariana Grande doesn’t want people talking about her body — or anyone’s body, for that matter.
In a rare video posted by Grande, 29, she addressed the recent onslaught of social media commentary about her weight. In recent days, the singer’s Instagram comments have been flooded with “concerns” over her thin appearance, with many body-shaming Grande and speculating that she must be starving herself.
In a three-minute TikTok posted Tuesday, Grande said she “wanted to address your concerns about my body.”
After noting that she doesn’t feel confident or enjoy making these sorts of videos, Grande said people “should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what.”
Grande, who appeared in a slouchy grey hoodie with her blond hair tied back, said even a comment about someone’s body that may seem positive can be ultimately harmful.
“There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful. And personally, for me, the body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body,” Grande said in the video. “I was on a lot of anti-depressants and drinking on them and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy, but that, in fact, wasn’t my healthy.”
Grande hoped something “good” might come from her posting the video and being so openly vulnerable.
“You never know what someone is going through,” the Grammy-winning singer reminded her fans. “Even if you are coming from a loving place, and a caring place, that person probably is working on it, or has a support system that they are working on it with.”
“Be gentle with each other, and with yourselves,” she continued. “I think you’re beautiful no matter what you’re going through, no matter what weight.”
The video has been viewed 53 million times, as of this writing.
Grande is currently filming a two-instalment movie adaption of the widely successful Broadway musical Wicked.
In an Instagram post earlier this month, Grande, who is playing Galinda alongside Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba, said she was halfway through the production.
“I am so grateful,” she wrote.
