Ariana Grande set the record straight after her plans to step back from the spotlight were announced.
When the pop star, 33, returned to the stage for the next stop of her Eternal Sunshine Tour, she read a prepared statement from her phone, saying she didn’t want to get nervous and forget.
“Yes, boundaries, they need to be set,” she told the audience.
Ariana Grande has set the record straight after her plans to step back from the spotlight were announced
On August 3, Ariana Grande addressed the crowd at the United Center in Chicago and spoke about taking a step back from the spotlight.
Her speech came a day after Grande’s team announced that she would be “taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour.”
The 7 Rings singer clarified that her decision was not “reactive or impulsive,” but was decided a “long time ago.”
“So basically, the announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing,” she told her fans at the first of three sold-out shows at Chicago’s United Center.
“It is something that I had decided to plan that I had quietly made a long time ago, and it’s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place.”
The Grammy winner clarified that her decision was not “reactive or impulsive,” but was decided a “long time ago.”
The singer-actress said “many things can be true at the same time,” and she wanted to share this because she heard her fans “were worried that negativity was ruining things” for her.
“But I just have to say that could not be more the f*** opposite. Honestly, this is not what that is,” she said.
ariana grande shares a message to her fans in chicago tonight:
“the announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing (…) i heard that my fans were worried that negativity was ruining things for me, but i just want to say that could not be more the fuck… pic.twitter.com/v9NQe6wyO0
— Ariana Grande Today ꕤ (@ArianaToday) August 4, 2026
“And I just want to be very, very clear: Multiple things can be true at the same time. Yes, boundaries, they need to be set. Human beings can need a break sometimes. And also, this can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional and creative life,” she continued.
Regardless of “what noises” exist, she said nothing will “distort [her] reality” or be more real or elaborate to her than “this love that [they] share.”
“The rest of that sh** is not mine to carry, so I don’t carry it. I need to get out here and differentiate that from my truth for you all because I love you and this tour has been the most healing, beautiful, corrective, magnificent, special experience of my life,” she went on to say.
“I wish that words were enough to articulate just how much I love you all,” she added.
The Grammy winner’s decision to step back from fame came after the intense public scrutiny around her body and health.
Commentary about her slim appearance intensified after the Friday release of her eighth studio album, Petal.
She also dropped the music video for the title track Petal, in which the Oscar nominee executes a panel of her critics with a chainsaw. Fans couldn’t stop talking about her weight after watching the gruesome video.
“She’s just trying to manipulate the situation and distract us that she’s not ok,” one commented online
Viewers had mixed opinions about her speech at the Chicago concert, with one saying, “She said f*** yall in the kindest way.”
“Me when I lie,” one skeptically wrote. “She needs therapy and fix her eat**g dis**der pls.”
“She stays gaslighting her fans. This woman is truly sick in the head. What’s it going to take for her to realize she needs help,” wrote another.
“She seriously needs to get help,” said one concerned fan. “How long is she going to talk about setting boundaries when we can see ur whole sternum… praying she recovers.”
“I’m not an avid fan of Ariana, but this is on society and their bodily expectations of women. And there are quite a few people on this thread that could probably fkn learn some empathy and remove the fact she’s a celebrity, and you see a human suffering from internet bullies who hate themselves so much they’ll bring someone else down to make them feel better,” wrote another.
“So many people spent months projecting their own conclusions onto her, and meanwhile she was making decisions on her own terms. That’s a level of self-awareness and confidence that deserves respect,” wrote another.
Grande’s speech coincided with the news of her dropping out of Stephen Sondheim’s West End revival of Sunday in the Park With George, in which she was expected to star opposite Jonathan Bailey.
One insider said her new album Petal is “an anthem about the love-hate relationship with the public and their toxicity”
Her representative also announced a day before the Chicago stop that she would be ending her tour “on a high note.”
She would then take “a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny,” her representative said.
“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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One insider said her new album Petal is a “fight song.”
The album is “an anthem about the love-hate relationship with the public and their toxicity,” and it’s “not about any romantic partner or breakup in that way.”
“She stays gaslighting her fans,” one commented online. “This woman is truly sick in the head”
