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After Months Of Increasing Concern From Fans, Ariana Grande’s Family Member Opens Up About Her
Woman with smudged makeup wiping tears, highlighting Ariana Grande struggles and not in a healthy place discussion.
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Ariana Grande Family Member Reveals She’s "Not In A Healthy Place" Amid Weight Concerns

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Ariana Grande has long been the subject of comments and concern about her weight.

A family member recently appeared to confirm that the star is “struggling” with her health and the scrutiny surrounding her body.

The Wicked actress frequently receives remarks about her small frame, with observers claiming she looks unhealthy and pointing to her visible chest bones, collarbone, and sunken cheeks as signs that she may be underweight.

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    Highlights
    • Ariana Grande is “not in a healthy place” and is struggling with her mental health, a family member said.
    • The source claimed that the actress and singer struggled during the chaotic ‘Wicked’ press tour.
    • Ariana is reportedly affected by people commenting on her appearance and expressing concerns about her weight.

    Ariana Grande’s family members have expressed concern about her health

    Image credits: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

    Some are even drawing comparisons to Karen Carpenter of The Carpenters, who passed away at 32 due to complications from an eating dis*rder.

    These conversations intensified during the press tour for Wicked and its sequel, Wicked: For Good, where Ariana’s multiple interviews and red carpet appearances turned her health into as loud a talking point as the films themselves.

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    Someone close to the singer has now told The Daily Mail that Ariana is “not in a healthy place,” and that her loved ones are urging her to take better care of herself.

    Image credits: Kevin Mazur/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

    “Ariana did not handle [the press tour] well at all,” the family member said.

    “It bothered her a lot – from the red carpet incident [in which a man rushed her] to what people were saying about her online. She can be very thin-skinned, and people commenting on how skinny she is was really troubling to her.”

    During her Wicked press tour, fans commented on what they describe as an underweight, unhealthy appearance

    Image credits: arianagrande

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    At the premiere of Wicked: For Good last month, Ariana was ambushed by Johnson Wen, a repeated red-carpet intruder who jumped the barrier and grabbed her. Ariana’s co-star, Cynthia Erivo, quickly intervened, wrapping her arm around Ariana as bodyguards restrained the man.

    At the time, a separate source revealed that the incident had triggered Ariana’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which she has been battling since the 2017 attack at her Manchester concert that claimed 22 lives.

    Image credits: arianagrande

    “She’s not in a healthy place and she knows it. Everyone around her knows it,” the insider continued. “Her anxiety is through the roof. She over-exerted herself and the cracks started to show pretty quickly.”

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    Ariana has called the remarks about her body “horrible” and “uncomfortable”

    Image credits: arianatorswildt

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    “Everyone is encouraging her to take care of her own mental health – because she needs to.”

    According to the family source, the 32-year-old “has leaned on Cynthia a lot” throughout the press tour, and her co-star “checks in” with her multiple times a day.

    Image credits: arianagrande

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    Ariana recently addressed the speculation about her appearance directly in an Instagram post. On November 29, she shared a 2024 interview in which she became emotional discussing how she copes with negative comments about her weight.

    “Resharing this from last year as a loving reminder to all,” she captioned the clip.

    In the interview, Ariana, who rose to fame as a teen on Nickelodeon, said she has felt like a “specimen in a petri dish” since she was 16 years old.

    She also urged people to be more mindful before discussing someone else’s body, even when the comments come from a place of care or concern.

    The Grammy winner’s family members claim she’s not “in a healthy place”

    Image credits: arianagrande

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    Image credits: arianagrande

    “I think in today’s society, there is a comfortability that we shouldn’t have at all — commenting on others’ looks, appearance, what they think is going on behind the scenes or health or how they present themselves,” Ariana said.

    To illustrate how common these remarks are, she mentioned the example of a family member telling someone they look “skinnier” or “heavier” during Thanksgiving dinner.

    That is something that is uncomfortable and horrible no matter where it’s happening,” she said.

    The source shared that Ariana has a strong support system that encourages her to prioritize her mental health

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    Image credits: NYTCooking

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    The We Can’t Be Friends singer previously addressed body-shamers in a 2023 video, explaining that the body people perceived as “healthy” actually reflected a very different reality.

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    Ariana has faced comments about her body ever since she rose to fame as a teen on Nickelodeon

    Image credits: arianagrande

    “The body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body. I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly,” she said.

    “[I was] at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy, but that in fact wasn’t my healthy. I know I shouldn’t have to explain that. But I do feel like maybe having an openness and some sort of vulnerability here, good might come from it.”

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    The Grammy winner concluded her message by urging fans to think twice before speculating about someone else’s appearance and to be “gentle with each other and yourselves.”

    Social media users are divided over whether “concerned” comments are another form of body-shaming

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    Marina Urman

    Marina Urman

    Writer, Entertainment News Writer

    Read more »

    With a degree in social science and a love for culture, I approach entertainment journalism at Bored Panda with a research-driven mindset. I write about celebrity news, Hollywood highlights, and viral stories that spark curiosity worldwide. My work has reached millions of readers and is recognized for balancing accuracy with an engaging voice. I believe that pop culture isn’t just entertainment, it reflects the social conversations shaping our time.

    Read less »
    Marina Urman

    Marina Urman

    Writer, Entertainment News Writer

    With a degree in social science and a love for culture, I approach entertainment journalism at Bored Panda with a research-driven mindset. I write about celebrity news, Hollywood highlights, and viral stories that spark curiosity worldwide. My work has reached millions of readers and is recognized for balancing accuracy with an engaging voice. I believe that pop culture isn’t just entertainment, it reflects the social conversations shaping our time.

    What do you think ?
    FreeTheUnicorn
    Community Member
    2 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The meanness is wrong but pretending to be ok with someone looking like the the poster child for anorexia, normalises not saying anything when you know the person. It normalises being able to count ribs and see collar bones and makes life that much harder for anyone dealing with ED and those who care about them. It's the same as commenting on someone who has an obvious problem with alcohol. She's put herself in a role for public comment, and has chosen fashion that accentuate her unhealthy weight People shouldn't be harassing her, but calling out what seems to be untreated illness isn't out of pocket, its what needs to happen.

    Shelli Aderman
    Community Member
    2 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I hope she gets the help she needs. I’ve been too close to too many people who have suffered from Eating Disôrders. 😔💕

    Mari
    Community Member
    2 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    People were also worried about Amy Winehouse and were right to be concerned.

    Binky Melnik
    Community Member
    2 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It’s fine. Be concerned, but no one needs to *express* their concern aside from her loved ones. It does no one any good speculating on anyone else’s health. And it’s not helpful.

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    FreeTheUnicorn
    Community Member
    2 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The meanness is wrong but pretending to be ok with someone looking like the the poster child for anorexia, normalises not saying anything when you know the person. It normalises being able to count ribs and see collar bones and makes life that much harder for anyone dealing with ED and those who care about them. It's the same as commenting on someone who has an obvious problem with alcohol. She's put herself in a role for public comment, and has chosen fashion that accentuate her unhealthy weight People shouldn't be harassing her, but calling out what seems to be untreated illness isn't out of pocket, its what needs to happen.

    Shelli Aderman
    Community Member
    2 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I hope she gets the help she needs. I’ve been too close to too many people who have suffered from Eating Disôrders. 😔💕

    Mari
    Community Member
    2 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    People were also worried about Amy Winehouse and were right to be concerned.

    Binky Melnik
    Community Member
    2 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It’s fine. Be concerned, but no one needs to *express* their concern aside from her loved ones. It does no one any good speculating on anyone else’s health. And it’s not helpful.

    Load More Replies...
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