On Friday, Ariana Grande released her new album petal, which is largely concerned with her own conflicted feelings about her pop stardom and her fans. During the album's rollout and Grande's ongoing Eternal Sunshine Tour, Grande's appearance has been a major topic of public conversation, with many expressing concern over how emaciated and potentially unhealthy she has looked for the last few years. In the wake of all that conversation, Grande now plans to take a "step back from visibility" once her tour ends.
A rep for Ariana Grande tells People, "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." People also quotes "a source close to Grande," who further emphasizes the point that the singer is currently doing just fine physically: "She performs a very physical show, and there is a lot of athleticism involved. She performs healthily and successfully at a very high level night after night."
In 2027, Grande was planning to rejoin her Wicked castmate Jonathan Bailey in a revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical Sundays In The Park With George on London's West End. The play's social media account confirms that Grande has backed out of that production, though the same unnamed source tells People that she "cannot wait to support the brilliant team bringing this project to life."
We wish her nothing but the best.
— Sunday In The Park With George (@SundayParkStage) August 2, 2026
The production will open at the Barbican in summer 2027 as planned, and casting will be announced in due course. 2/2
Regarding Grande's lyrics on petal, that source tells People, "This album is a fight song, an anthem about the love-hate relationship with the public and their toxicity." The public's concern for Grande's health ramped up when Grande released the video for her petal title track on Friday, with many comparing her appearance to that of Karen Carpenter in the last years of her life.
One of the people who commented on her appearance was James Blake's partner and collaborator Jameela Jamil. In an Instagram comment, Jamil wrote, "This poor woman is possibly dying right in front of us. This outfit is designed to accentuate the thinness for discourse. Her team are thoroughly irresponsible for not guiding her away from this deeply damaging image for her young fans to see so glamorized."
The Eternal Sunshine Tour is scheduled to end 9/1 in London
