Ariana Grande has been accused of shading Sabrina Carpenter as an awkward encounter between them at the MVA Video Music Awards was caught on camera.
A video of the two singers talking and hugging at the 2025 VMAs has gone viral thanks to a seemingly ‘frosty’ response from Ariana.
The clip showed the two women embracing and chatting while backstage during the awards show.
When Sabrina, 26, attempted to embrace Ariana, 32, for a second hug, the actress from Wicked notably did not reciprocate, resulting in an awkward moment.
Fans swiftly took to the internet to discuss the seemingly uneasy encounter, with some criticizing Ariana for appearing ‘insincere’ and speculating about her lack of enthusiasm for Sabrina.
Judi James, a body language expert from Casino.ca, gave an exclusive analysis to the Daily Mail, describing the ‘partial hug’ as noticeably ‘chilly.’
‘[Ariana] holds her arms out for a frosty-looking partial hug that has “brakes” on it via the holding of the elbows,’ Judi explained.
“There’s a little shuffle on the spot with excitement, but it falls short compared to the kind of fan-like gestures she made with Lady Gaga,” she observed.
Ariana Grande has been accused of shading Sabrina Carpenter as an awkward encounter between them at the MVA Video Music Awards was caught on camera
A video of the two singers talking and hugging at the 2025 VMAs has gone viral thanks to a seemingly ‘frosty’ response from Ariana
Even so, Judi added that the God Is a Woman hitmaker kept her ‘cool’ and came off as ‘professional.’
“Ariana displayed numerous actions of fan-like humility and respect tonight, but her body language when greeting Sabrina suggested she maintained her own status with a subtle coolness,” she added.
‘The body language looks professional here … but with the elbow-clutching the suggestion is that these two stars don’t know each other very well.’
‘Getting fake vibes from Ari no shade,’ one fan replied to the video of the two stars.
‘Ariana acting fake AF. Not a genuine bone in her body,’ agreed another.
‘They hate [each other] inside,’ theorized someone else.
This isn’t the first time the two stars met as Sabrina previously opened for Ariana on her Dangerous Woman tour in 2017.
Judi also spoke to the Daily Mail about how Ariana sent a surprising message about the future of her career as she debuted a new look at the VMAs.
As Sabrina, 26, leaned in for a second hug, the Wicked star did not return the gesture, resulting in a somewhat awkward interaction with the Espresso singer.
Casino.ca’s body language expert Judi James analyzed the moment exclusively to the Daily Mail, and she noted that the ‘partial hug’ certainly looked ‘frosty’
The singer and actress, 32, arrived at the 2025 VMAs red carpet wearing a custom Fendi black and white polka dot dress, which came complete with a sweetheart neckline and a puffy pink ruffle in the center.
She wore her hair up in her signature slicked back ponytail, and donned ethereal makeup for the awards show.
But there was a subtle difference in her appearance, and it might be bad news for Wicked fans.
Judi pointed out that the God Is a Woman songstress changed the shape of her eyebrows and exuded a newfound confidence.
And she believes the transformation symbolizes that the star is distancing herself from her Wicked character Glinda once and for all.
‘Ariana just silently announced something important [with her VMAs] red carpet appearance,’ Judi told the Daily Mail exclusively.
‘She’s been locked into her Wicked character for so long, but one non-verbal detail tonight let us know she’s in some kind of transition period and getting back to her rock goddess peak again.
‘One signature look of her Wicked character was the way her eyebrows were shaped into a steeple in the middle, making her look wide-eyed, innocent and fawn-like.
‘Tonight, they seemed to have been growing back into a less pronounced peak, making her lose some of that aura of vulnerability.’
While Ariana has been fiercely promoting her movie Wicked over the last year, in recent weeks, she’s been teasing new projects, including an upcoming tour. She’s also in the midst of filming the movie Meet the Parents 4.
Judi added that Ariana seemed to carry herself in a more ‘flirty’ and ‘confident’ way at the VMAs than we’ve seen recently.
‘Her body language fluctuated as she posed, veering from some flirty, over the one-hunched shoulder glances in her polka dot dress, with her raised chin giving a look of confidence, to some occasional returns to the “startled fawn” look of her Wicked character,’ she noted.
