The first weekend of August was all about Ariana Grande. The pop star released her eighth studio album, petal, on Friday, July 31 alongside the music video for the titular track. Largely produced alongside friend and longtime collaborator Ilya Salmanzadeh, it’s Grande’s most experimental and “feral” project to date, and entirely self-written. Amidst the rollout and release of her new album, Grande has also been on tour. The Eternal Sunshine tour is her first in seven years, and has been nothing short of magical for Grande and Arianators alike.
Just a few days after her album release, though, it was announced that Grande would be taking a step back from the public eye following the conclusion of the Eternal Sunshine tour. Not only that, but a representative for Grande announced on Aug. 2 that she would be dropping out of the West End revival of Sunday In The Park With George, where she was set to star as Dot alongside Jonathan Bailey’s George in Spring 2027. “Endless, ongoing public scrutiny” was one of the reasons cited in Grande’s decision to step back from the limelight. Her rep said, “She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny. This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”
Several fans — myself included — were devastated by the news. More importantly, we were worried about Grande herself. Dealing with intensifying scrutiny and an endless stream of hate comments is never easy no matter what scale it’s on. Much of fans’ fears were rooted in the possibility that the noise had drowned out what was supposed to be an era all about the beauty of healing. That, and the fear that said noise may have pushed Grande away from music for good.
Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the case. On Aug. 3, Grande addressed fans’ concerns at the first of her Chicago shows. She assured everyone that the decision came from a “thoughtful and empowered” place, and that the negativity has not at all ruined neither the petal era nor the Eternal Sunshine tour. She reaffirmed that this experience will continue to be the greatest one of her stellar career thus far, and nothing will get in the way of that.
Fans all over the internet were instantly relieved following Grande’s words. All the fears that had mounted in 48 hours between the hiatus announcement and Grande’s speech dissipated in an instant. The idea at the core of the petal era — growing and blossoming into yourself amidst challenging times — hasn’t been lost just because she’s taking a step back. Instead, it’s been reaffirmed 10 times over.
Ultimately, Grande’s speech is a message about the importance of choosing yourself. Knowing how to protect your peace (i.e., setting boundaries) and when to take a break are two skills that are necessary to lead a happy, healthy life. Negativity will always be around, but it’s how you take care of yourself that will determine how much it affects you. Like Ariana Grande said, the rest of that sh*t is not yours to carry.