Ariana Grande: Her Impact Behind The Critics

The controversy behind Ariana Grande and her body formally began in 2024 when the release of the first Wicked movie sparked conflicting and concerning thoughts over why she had lost so much weight. This topic, however, was on the backburner of many people’s minds; everyone was lasered in on the movie and how much Grande and her co-star Cynthia Erivo cried during press tour interviews. This simmered out until the next movie came out in 2025, where people brought this same topic up again, and once again it died down for a short amount of time. 

After releasing her most recent album in July, and a music video to one of the songs, people have become appalled at Grande’s body, stating that she is way too thin and is setting a bad example for her younger fanbase. Dieticians all over TikTok and Instagram are making videos discussing their concern for her size and being able to see her bones in most photos. 

However, Grande is not the only one who has become thinner. Popstar Tate McRae has become increasingly thinner, and even women without a huge musical fanbase such as Jenna Ortega and Angelina Jolie have had noticeable weight loss. All of these women have a young population of fans, which is part of the reason why the world is so concerned; they want these women to set the right example for how a growing girl’s body should look, not how they want it to look. 

Women of any age can agree the biggest but most undercover issue of the past few years is girls becoming extremely fixated on making their body look perfect, and warping a body into something unnatural. I’m part of the population who is concerned about artists like Grande and McRae, and believe that influence is an enormous aspect of a public figure’s life. Celebrities are role models that have an obligatory duty to set a healthy and attainable standard for those who look up to them. 

While this is a topic that cannot be discussed casually, I believe that there is so much more to Grande and want to highlight aspects of her career that I know have made more of an impact than her body. 

Grande began acting and quickly rose to fame in 2010, for her part in the Nickelodeon shows Sam and Cat and Victorious. As someone who watched these shows as a young girl, I can say that they were important. I bonded over them with my little sister and we watched the shows as a pastime. 

While this is where the world’s love for Grande began, her music had even more of an impact. She has over 95 million monthly listeners, and has had over 20 songs on the 1 billion streams on Spotify. Whether you are an Arianator (the name for diehard fans) and listen to her music everyday or not, many people, if not all, know Grande’s music and love parts of her different eras. 

One overlooked accomplishment of Grande’s is her beauty brand R.E.M, which has grown increasingly popular after launching multiple collabs with the Wicked franchise throughout the first and second movies. This makeup has made its way into big stores such as Ulta, and is very versatile among anyone who uses makeup. 

The most important, and most recent addition to her career is her Brighter Days Ahead Foundation. The nonprofit organization began this summer and donates to small organizations which help protect vulnerable communities, such LGBTQ+, and helps those struggling with mental health get emergency help they need. 

All of these important puzzle pieces of her career she has so carefully crafted come together to make her an unforgettable person, despite what society says and will continue to say. 

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