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When Ariana Grande announced plans to withdraw from the spotlight, many breathed a sigh of relief.
It was hoped that she was getting the help that she clearly needs.
Now, Ariana has released a new statement that dashed the hopes of fans.
She’s apparently stepping back to set “boundaries” and planned this long ago. That doesn’t sound like she had a wake-up call about her health.
She wants to ‘clear the air’
Ariana is not on hiatus just yet.
The announcement about her upcoming break, which came over the weekend, said that she would be avoiding the spotlight for a bit after her Eternal Sunshine Tour concludes.
On Monday, August 3, Ariana performed in Chicago.
Standing on the stage, she told the crowd that she “wanted to speak to my fans directly.”
Her goal? To “clear the air” about her upcoming break.
♡ ♾️！ pic.twitter.com/7GQJJ13D5d
— Team Ariana (@TeamAriana) August 4, 2026
“Sometimes when a story comes out that’s not directly from me, things can be a little blown out of proportion,” Ariana shared. (Is she throwing her publicist under the bus?)
Reading from her phone, she continued: “It means a lot to me to let you know how I’m feeling and not let the world project.”
Ariana shared: “The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing.” In other words, not a reaction to the horror that people expressed over how gaunt she appears in her “petal” music video.
“It is something that I have decided, a plan that I had quietly made a long time ago,” Ariana claimed. “And it’s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place.”
This doesn’t really sound like someone finally got through to her and that she’s opted to go to rehab for what many people believe to be a life-threatening eating disorder. It could be! But she’s not saying that.
‘Boundaries can need to be set’
“Multiple things can be true at the same time,” Ariana said vaguely. “Boundaries can need to be set. Human beings can need a break sometimes.”
She continued: “And also, this can be, and will continue to be, the greatest experience of my professional and creative life.”
Ariana addressed the concern of some fans that what some consider to be “negativity” is “ruining” the release of petal, her album.
“I just have to say that could not be more the f–k opposite,” she decreed.
Ariana added a non-specific: “I love you, and this is what I will always take with me and carry with me because the rest of that s–t is not mine to carry, so I don’t carry it.”
Ariana then went on to praise the crowd and to affirm how much she has enjoyed her Eternal Sunshine Tour.
It really sounds like she may be trying to debunk claims that she’s getting help.
That said, it is possible that Ariana has simply lumped all of the conversation that does not come from stans as “haters.” If so, perhaps she is quashing claims that she’s running and hiding from her detractors.
No one is seriously saying that she’s hiding from criticism. And the people begging Ariana to get help are not haters. Most of them (most of us, really) are longtime, diehard Ariana fans.
At present, Ariana looks more gaunt than Karen Carpenter did shortly before her death. We do not want to lose yet another multitalented legend as she appears to shrink and wither before us.
Ariana Grande Alarms Fans: Hiatus is About Boundaries, Not Getting Help! was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.