Ariana Grande addresses ‘concern’ over her body via TikTok: ‘I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies’  

On April 11, Ariana Grande issued a rare statement on TikTok in which she urged fans to stop commenting on people’s bodies and appearances, including her own, regardless of their intentions.

“I don’t do this often. I don’t like it, and I’m not good at it… I just wanted to address your concerns about my body and talk a little bit about what it means to be a person with a body. And to be seen, and to be paid this close attention to,” Grande, who is currently working on a film adaptation of the musical “Wicked,” says.

The r.e.m. beauty founder asks fans to take a kinder, “gentler” approach to one another, especially when it comes to one’s body.

“I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what,” she continues. “If you think you’re saying something good or well-intentioned, whatever it is — healthy, unhealthy, big, small, this, that, sexy, not sexy. We just shouldn’t. We should really work toward not doing that as much.”

“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 sparked concern in recent Instagram posts, in which many fans believe she looks unhealthy in weight and overall appearance.

“I just also wanted to say, one, there are many different kinds of beautiful. There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful,” Grande explains. “I know personally, for me, the body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body. 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 also shines a light on the fact that we often don’t know what people are going through and that it’s best to consider the necessity of sharing a potentially harmful opinion about someone’s body that’s been crafted with little to no context.

“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,” she explains. “You never know, so be gentle with each other and with yourselves.”

TikTok users and Arianators, the name affectionately given to Ariana Grande fans, have taken to the platform to voice their reactions to Grande’s video.

@yourbestfriendjoshua

Ariana Grande address the discourse about her weight/body in new TikTok video.🥺🥺🥺 #arianagrande #health

♬ original sound – Joshua Pingley

Grande’s statement comes a month after Selena Gomez went live on TikTok to address criticism she’s received over her body. Gomez, who was diagnosed with lupus in 2014, spoke openly about how her medication causes her weight to fluctuate.

“I would much rather be healthy and take care of myself, and my medications are important, and I believe they are what helps me,” Gomez said on TikTok.

“It’s so sad that they both had to explain. Nobody listens”

While some fans of Grande are still concerned over her physical appearance, others argue that the inclination to critique or comment on a celebrity’s body must come to an end.

“No matter what weight you are ‘too big’ or ‘too small’ people are never satisfied & always have something to say,” one user wrote.

“It’s very unrealistic that women are expected to stay in their teen weight their whole lives. No. Absolutely not,” another replied.

“It’s so sad that they both had to explain. Nobody listens,” someone said.

The hyper-scrutinization of a female celebrity’s body isn’t anything new. Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez, two former child stars who’ve remained in the spotlight into adulthood, have long been subjected to the criticism of others. Body shaming in celebrity culture is a persisting issue — the hope, of course, is that as more women speak out about it, the inclination to criticize and tear them down will continue to diminish.

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