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Ariana Grande is sharing a “friendly reminder” about the dangers of commenting on other people’s bodies.
On Saturday, Nov. 29, the Grammy winner, 32, posted several clips on her Instagram Stories from a 2024 interview in which she explained how she deals with unsolicited commentary about her appearance. She included the words “Friendly Reminder” in a text overlay on one of the clips.
“I’ve been a specimen in a Petri dish, really, since I was 16 or 17, you know?” Grande began in the footage.
“So I have heard it all. I heard every version of it, of what’s wrong with me. And then you fix it, and then it’s wrong for different reasons — from what you’re wearing, to your body, to your face, to your everything,” she added.
The Wicked: For Good star went on to say that she feels as though commenting on other people’s bodies is normalized in our culture, despite the fact that it can cause real harm.
She continued, “There’s a comfortability that we shouldn’t have at all — commenting on other’s looks, [their] appearance, what [we] think is going on behind the scenes or [their] health … It’s like, that is something that is uncomfortable and horrible, no matter where it’s happening, no matter the scale that it’s happening on.”
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Later in the interview, the “thank u next” singer said she thinks the phenomenon is “dangerous,” while also noting that she feels “lucky” to have a strong support system behind her throughout it all.
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“I think that I’m really lucky to have the support system that I have, and to just know and trust that I’m beautiful, you know?” Grande said. “But I do know what the pressure of that noise feels like. It’s been a resident in my life since I was 17. And I just don’t invite it in anymore. It’s not welcome … I just don’t invite it in anymore … I have work to do. I have a life to live. I have friends to love on. I have so much love.”
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She concluded her comments by encouraging others to “protect” themselves from the “noise” in their own lives whenever possible.
This isn’t the first time the multi-hyphenate has addressed unwanted comments about her body. In April 2023, Grande posted a rare, three-minute confessional on TikTok in which she addressed comments about her body.
“There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful. And personally, for me, the body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body,” she continued. “I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy, but that, in fact, wasn’t my healthy.”
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The star continued: “The second thing is you never know what someone is going through, so even if you’re coming from a loving place or a caring place, that person probably is working on it or has a support system that they’re working on it with. You never know, so be gentle with each other and yourselves.”
