Ariana Grande took us down the yellow brick road to reveal how she feels about the public’s opinion on beauty standards.
The actor, who plays Glinda in the 2024 movie adaptation of the Broadway play “Wicked,” recently sat down with French journalist Crazy Sally to discuss how she handles society’s beauty expectations.
During the interview, Sally asked Grande about the parallels between her and her character, Glinda. She brought up Glinda’s seemingly perfect nature and noted how the character, much like Grande herself, faces societal pressures on her looks. Sally then asked Grande, “How do you cope with beauty standards, to critics?”
“I’ve been doing this in front of the public … I’ve been a specimen in a petri dish really since I was 16 or 17. So I have heard it all,” the “Into You” singer replied. “I’ve heard every version of it, of what’s wrong with me — and then you fix it, then it’s wrong for different reasons.”
Grande continued, saying it’s difficult to protect herself from the constant onslaught of criticism that comes with fame.
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“It’s something that is uncomfortable no matter what scale you’re experiencing it on,” Grande said. “Even if you go to Thanksgiving dinner and someone’s granny says, ‘You look skinnier, what happened?’ or, ‘You look heavier, what happened?’ That is something that is uncomfortable and horrible no matter where it’s happening, no matter the scale it’s happening on.”
The singer added that she’s grateful for her strong support system, which helps remind her of her own confidence and beauty. She also emphasized that she doesn’t “leave space for” negative commentary.
In a recent Vanity Fair lie detector test video, Grande also dispelled rumors of having plastic surgery. Her co-star, Cynthia Erivo, asked if Grande had undergone any plastic surgery procedures, including a nose job, breast implants, face-lift, chin implants or a fox eye lift. The pop star answered “no” to all the questions, passing the lie detector test for each.