Ariana Grande Tells Chicago Crowd Her Step Back Was Planned, Not Reactive

Midway through her Eternal Sunshine Tour stop in Chicago on Monday, Ariana Grande paused to address the crowd. The singer had something to clarify. A day earlier, her representative confirmed she would “take a step back from visibility” after the tour ends, and the internet had already filled in its own narrative.

“Sometimes when a story comes out that’s not directly from me, things can get a little blown out of proportion,” Grande told the United Center audience. “So I wanted to speak to my fans directly tonight because I love you so much.”

The announcement was not impulsive, she said. “It was something that I have decided. A plan that I had quietly made a long time ago. It was a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place.” She pushed back against the idea that online negativity had forced her hand. “I heard that my fans were worried that negativity was ruining things for me, but I just have to say that could not be more the far opposite.”

Grande framed the break as a matter of boundaries. “Multiple things can be true at the same time: boundaries need to be set, human beings can need a break sometimes and also, this can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional and creative life.” The show, she added, had been “the most healing, beautiful, corrective, magnificent, special experience.”

The decision to step back follows the release of her album Petal and its title track’s video, which prompted fan concern over her appearance. She has also withdrawn from a planned West End revival and will not appear in the next season of American Horror Story. Onstage, Grande was firm about what she will carry forward. “The rest of that shit is not mine to carry, so I don’t carry it.”