Ariana Grande's life in the public eye hasn't always been easy, and over the past few years, there's been a lot of talk about her appearance.
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Though she previously shut down fans' "concerns about [her] body" in 2023 and again in 2024, Ariana's well-being became a big topic of conversation in June this year, after she kicked off her Eternal Sunshine tour.
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Footage of Ariana performing on the tour, along with the music video for "petal," which came out in late July, sparked major concern over her shrinking frame. Eventually, her team spoke out to say that she'd be "taking a step back from visibility" once the tour wrapped up.
"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," a representative for the singer told People on Aug. 2, days after the release of the "petal" video. "This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much."
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The following day, Ariana spoke out about the break herself, saying that it was "a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place." The Eternal Sunshine tour wrapped up in London on Sept. 1. Since then, Ariana has been lying pretty low, aside from sharing the occasional Instagram post about her music or makeup brand.
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Now, one of her famous exes has spoken out to defend her amid everything that's been going on over the past few months.
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As I'm sure you'll remember, Ariana and Pete Davidson had a high-profile, whirlwind romance in 2018 that culminated in their engagement after only a few weeks of dating. The pair got matching tattoos, moved in together, and Ariana famously named a song after him on her Sweetener album. The pair split after only five months together, and Ariana went on to release "thank u, next," her hit breakup anthem, which name-dropped Pete and several of her other exes.
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Though Pete and Ariana seemingly haven't remained close, the comedian recently discussed the "vitriol" that Ariana has been subjected to this year, telling Variety that it's been very sad for him to see.
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"I don’t like it at all. It’s not cool," he said. "She’s a really strong person — I’ve witnessed it — and I don’t understand it. She knows how to handle this stuff though. She’s been around. So she’ll be OK, but I think it’s fucked up."
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He also made a lighthearted joke about "thank u, next," saying that "there should be a group" of celebrities who've inspired hit breakup songs.
"It’s something that comes up once in a while," he said of the track. "But I think Ariana’s fuckin’ cool and immensely talented and an awesome girl. We’re not texting or whatever, but we’re cool."
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Pete's comments have gained a lot of attention on X, and it sounds like people weren't expecting this.