Content warning: This story mentions eating disorders and weight.
After enduring years of negative comments about her body, Ariana Grande has finally spoken out in a recent TikTok. Her video is in response to the many comments left under her Instagram post, with users expressing concern about her thinness. There have also been TikToks circulating that show photos of her throughout the decade, comparing her weight then and now — some even accusing her of having an eating disorder. With all the speculation circulating online, Ari has finally spoken out to clear the air.
On April 11, Grande posted a three-minute TikTok that has already amassed over 54 million views and counting.
In the video, she asks viewers not to comment on anybody’s body for any reason. “The body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body,” Grande says in the video. “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,’ but that in fact wasn’t my healthy.”
Not that she owes anyone an explanation. “I know I shouldn’t have to explain that, but I do feel like maybe having an openness and some sort of vulnerability here… something good might come from it,” Grande says.
She explains that you never know what someone is going through. As a public figure, Grande is under constant attack from users who have accused her of having an eating disorder. Mental health issues are hard enough to deal with, but adding the hypervisibility of being a celebrity makes it so much worse. She urges viewers to let people deal with their mental health on their own.
It’s also completely normal for weight to fluctuate throughout our lives. I’m sure we’ve all experienced weight changes as we’ve gotten older (hello, second puberty). Our bodies aren’t meant to stay the same, and there are so many factors that could influence someone’s weight.
We’ve seen attacks like this before with celebs like Selena Gomez, who always seems to be on the receiving end of negative comments about her weight. Lana Del Rey has faced similar attacks, with fans comparing her body now to how she used to look. If there’s one thing the internet will do, it’s speculate. In our diet-obsessed culture, we’ve latched onto celebrities and their weight as topics of conversation. Whether their weight changes from medication or just different points in their life, why are we still commenting on people’s bodies?
Grande wraps up her video by urging viewers to be gentler with each other and to find ways of complimenting people without talking about their bodies. She extends her love and says that everyone is beautiful (crying).
There’s been an outpouring of love and support for Grande since her post. Her TikTok has garnered over 10 million likes, and celebrities have commented expressing their support for her.
“We love you Ariana” was also trending on Twitter after she posted her TikTok.
The bottom line: We can’t draw conclusions about somebody’s health or mental health by the way that their body looks. It’s not anyone’s place to be making accusations, and we’re not entitled to an explanation for celebrity weight changes either.