“Viscerally Upsetting”: Ariana Grande Fans Concerned ‘Wicked’ Role Is “Sucking The Life Out Of Her” After Latest Appearance

At the Wicked: For Good premiere in London on November 10, Ariana Grande’s stunning vintage gown wasn’t the only thing that had people talking. 

Apart from her stunning attire, fans also expressed concern over the pop icon’s tired look, with one calling her photos at the event “viscerally upsetting.” As she joined her co-stars at the ODEON Luxe Leicester Square, some fans wondered if the iconic role had drained her.

Ariana Grande’s decade of reinvention has left fans both inspired and worried

Image credits: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Grande’s latest appearance was meant to be a triumphant moment to celebrate the finale of Wicked.

Styled by Law Roach, she wore a one-shoulder black ballgown originally designed by legendary Wizard of Oz costume designer Gilbert Adrian in 1952. 

Image credits: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Grande shared that the gown felt deeply personal, according to People magazine.

“To now have it in our personal vintage collection, and to wear something made by him on this carpet, feels so emotional and meaningful,” she said, adding that she and Roach “cried many times during the fitting.”

Image credits: arianafeeds

But as photos of her hit social media, reactions were mixed. “Y’all talking about Wicked healed her, looks like it sucked the life outta her,” one fan commented.

“I found these images viscerally upsetting. Poor girl,” another wrote.

Image credits: girIsixxx

Others tried to keep things lighthearted: “She always looks like she just remembered she left the stove on,” one joked.

A few also noted that her current expressions seem “purposefully confused,” noting that the look “doesn’t quite reach the Audrey Hepburn vibe she’s going for.”

Ariana Grande may have paid the price of playing Glinda and living in the spotlight

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For Grande, the Wicked: For Good premiere marked another milestone. She began her career as Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon’s Victorious, a bubbly redhead role that required her to bleach and dye her hair every two weeks.

This process left her hair “completely destroyed,” she revealed later. 

Image credits: wickedmovie

When Sam & Cat ended in 2014, she pivoted toward music, where her signature high ponytail and powerhouse vocals made her an international sensation, according to the Daily Mail.

In the years since, she’s navigated extraordinary highs and devastating lows, including the 2017 Manchester concert tragedy that left her with PTSD. Her openness about those struggles has earned her admiration, but also heightened concern.

Image credits: arianagrande

When Grande landed her “dream role” as Glinda in 2021, it seemed like a full-circle moment for the artist.

Yet both she and co-star Cynthia Erivo later admitted to The New York Times that the Wicked filming schedule had been “intense,” with each contracting COVID before crucial scenes. 

Image credits: canering

“We’d worked ourselves to the bone,” Erivo said. Grande echoed the sentiment, describing how she returned on set while still recovering from the illness.

“We only got sick once each, but both were before some of the most important works of the whole movie. Me was the week before ‘Popular.’ I came to set with a mask on my final days of recovery to learn the hallway finale,” Grande said at the time.

Image credits: michaelcareyyy

Ariana Grande has asked fans to be kinder when talking about others’ appearances

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As concern about her appearance resurfaces, many longtime fans recalled a TikTok video from 2023, when Grande urged people to stop commenting on anyone’s body. 

“I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what,” she said at the time. 

Image credits: arianagrande

“If you think you’re saying something good or well-intentioned, whatever it is, healthy or unhealthy, big or small, this or that, s**y or not s**y, we should really work towards not doing that as much.”

In that video, she admitted that years earlier, when people thought she looked her healthiest, she had actually been at the lowest point of her life, on antidepressants, drinking, and eating poorly. 

Image credits: robbouto

“I think we should help each other work towards just being safer and keeping each other safer,” she shared.

“I know I shouldn’t have to explain that, but I do feel like maybe having an openness or vulnerability, something good might come from it. Healthy can look different.”

Image credits: arianagrande

Three years after going blonde to embody Glinda, Grande recently returned to her natural brunette hair, posting a mirror selfie captioned, “It’s good to see me, isn’t it?” 

While some expressed concern, others celebrated the return of her softer, more natural look.

Netizens shared their thoughts about Ariana Grande’s look at the Wicked: For Good premiere on social media

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