It began with a claim: fans on social media say they have rediscovered an old Tumblr page allegedly belonging to Ariana Grande, and interpret its contents as proof of her years-long preoccupation with food, weight control, and body image.
These claims have reignited online speculation, but a careful examination of available evidence shows the picture remains murky.
The 'Old Tumblr' That Sparked the Buzz
Several fan posts circulate linking to a Tumblr blog purportedly run by a young Ariana Grande. A widely shared link points to a Tumblr page titled 'loseituntilsummer,' where a post read: 'I lost 11 pounds thanks to my friend Isaac ... He taught me all about nutrition and weight loss and how to keep my body fit and healthy'.
@jkrhe52 **DISCLAIMER: my intention with this video is to talk about what I feel like is the giant elephant in the room everyone is too afraid to admit they were apart of or were affected by. it is not to shame her for any disorder or to shame her body but imo it's long far beyond and past the point where her disease has affected so many of us, we should be allowed to talk about it. I'm tired of pretending I am above the impact of celebrities who have purposefully and knowingly triggered us since childhood. I feel bad because l genuinely don't think she, the human, gets that. I think anyone with a disease like this only sees what the voice needs.I do hope she gets better but I more so care about the kids coming up now never EVER doing what we did.#arianagrande #popculture #celebritynews #wicked #TikTokStoriesContest
♬ original sound - jkrhe52
On its face, the post seems to show someone advocating weight loss and referencing restrictive habits. One of the quoted lines: 'I'm currently consuming more calories than I ever had before and I'm thinner than I've ever been'.
Fans took these posts as evidence of a long-term, possibly pathological relationship with food, catalysed by romanticising thinness or following diet constraints. Online commentary includes stark claims like: 'She's thinner now than when she wrote this post at 19'.
Yet the provenance of the Tumblr page is questionable. It is not archived in any major web-archive databases, nor is there public verification that the account belonged to Grande. The 'loseituntilsummer' blog appears unconnected to any verified social media account or official statement. In other words, there's no publicly authenticated proof that these posts are hers.
What Ariana Grande Herself Has Said — And Denied
Contrary to the rumours, the only verified source is Grande's own 2013 statement, when she was 19. In a blog post on her Tumblr, she addressed widespread speculation about an eating disorder, rejecting it as 'a bit blown out of proportion'. She said the weight loss was due to healthier eating choices and daily exercise, rather than an obsession with thinness.
She wrote: 'The lifestyle change ... was not and was never about being skinnier. ... I just wasn't taking care of myself at all'.
More recently, in April 2023, Grande posted a three-minute video on TikTok addressing persistent commentary about her body. She told fans: 'The body that you've been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body. I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy.'
She continued: 'There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful'. In the video, she urged followers to be 'gentler ... less comfortable commenting on people's bodies, no matter what'.
Grande has denied ever having an eating disorder and reframed her weight loss as a choice for healthier living. There is no record of any lawsuit, court docket, health-care document, or medical disclosure that would confirm ongoing disordered eating or a diagnosis.
The Perils of Judging Bodies in the Social-Media Age
The resurgence of these unverified Tumblr posts highlights not just fandom obsession, but deeper-rooted problems. The compulsion to trace a celebrity's physical form across time, and to treat shifting appearances as moral or medical narratives.
As commentators recently argued in the newsletter Friday Things: You can't reliably conclude someone's health status from photos or meme-like content, and such speculation can fuel dangerous 'pro-ana' behaviours and perpetuate diet culture, especially when directed at public figures with young, impressionable fanbases.
Moreover, when the only authenticated statements discourage body commentary and assert diverse definitions of health, the burden of proof lies firmly on those making serious claims. As things stand, the 'old Tumblr ≠ definitive proof.'
