There’s a fine line when addressing concerns about Ariana Grande

In 2023, Oscar-nominated actor and singer Ariana Grande recorded a video addressing people concerned about her thin appearance on the set of “Wicked.”

“I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what,” she said on TikTok. “We should really work toward not doing that as much. … There are really different ways to look healthy and beautiful.” 

In some ways, Grande is right. The bodies of celebrities, especially female celebrities, are constantly under a microscope, with every pound they lose or gain fodder for stories splashed across tabloid covers. In a society as fame-obsessed as ours, the parasocial entitlement that exists between famous people and the broader public must indeed be emotionally and mentally taxing for celebrities, who are often regarded as possessions, not humans. Commentary about the size of their bodies is a particularly nasty feature of that perceived ownership.

Yet in light of reporting that she’ll be taking a break from public work, it’s hard to ignore Grande’s recent appearance. While looks can be misleading and may not accurately reflect one’s health, she seems even thinner now than she did more than three years ago. When she shared the video for her latest single, “Petal,” on Instagram, a community note was attached encouraging people navigating eating disorders to seek care. That may feel like overstepping, or another form of body-shaming a famous woman. It shouldn’t be considered problematic, however, to point out the obvious: that Grande is not merely thin.

To be clear, we don’t know if Grande is experiencing any particular medical condition, including an eating disorder. Actor Chadwick Boseman was the subject of lots of internet discussion related to his drastic weight loss after “Black Panther,” and not long after that, he died after living with colon cancer for four years, never publicly disclosing his diagnosis. His death should have taught social media doctors that they don’t know what’s going on with the celebrities they follow. 

To that point, Grande is not under any obligation to tell us what she may be struggling with — or whether she is struggling at all. But her appearance in that “Petal” video is worrisome. So is the influence it might have if people see it as something to aspire to. Research has consistently shown that teenagers exposed to images of thinner body ideals on social media report higher dissatisfaction with their bodies, which can lead to eating disorder symptoms. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, an estimated 31 million people in the United States will have an eating disorder in their lifetime. As a result, one person dies as a direct consequence of an eating disorder every 52 minutes. 

Granted, the claim that the public is merely concerned for a famous woman’s health almost always warrants skepticism. Plus-size celebrities know this especially well. We’ve seen Lizzo trolled for “glorifying an unhealthy lifestyle” and seen Adele praised for the weight loss that accompanied her stressful divorce. As Adele told Oprah Winfrey in 2018, “My body has been objectified my entire career. I’m either too big or too small.” As is typical, those comments at Lizzo and Adele were couched in phony concern about the celebrities’ health.

It’s important, then, that when we talk about Grande becoming too thin, our expressed concern isn’t simply body-shaming by another name.

Grande, who’s been on her “Eternal Sunshine” arena tour since June 6, has announced that she’s stepping back from the spotlight amid the speculation about her health. After her tour wraps on Sept. 1 in London, one of her representatives told People, she’ll be “taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny.” She’s also withdrawn from the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George.”

During Monday’s show in Chicago, Grande expounded upon her decision. She said that she had been quietly planning this break from a “thoughtful and empowered place” and that it was not in reaction to the rising concern about the size of her body. “I heard my fans were worried negativity was ruining things for me, but that could not be more than the opposite,” she said from the stage. “Boundaries need to be set; human beings do need a break sometimes.”

There’s no denying that celebrities are under an extraordinary amount of pressure to uphold impossible beauty ideals, and as Grande said three years ago, we should be “less comfortable” talking about people’s size and shape. She’s right. But we also shouldn’t pretend a celebrity doesn’t appear to be struggling. It’s good to hear that Grande is stepping away. Here’s hoping her break from the public provides her everything she needs.

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