Ariana Grande addressed fans head-on Monday night in Chicago, delivering a firm and emotional message from the stage just one day after revealing she plans to step back from public work and appearances while facing “ongoing scrutiny.”
Speaking to the packed crowd at the United Center, the 33-year-old pop superstar made it clear that her decision to pause was not made in the heat of the moment.
“It was not a reactive or impulsive thing,” Grande told the audience, explaining that the break was part of a private plan she had been considering for quite some time. She described the choice as careful, intentional and rooted in strength, adding that more than one truth can exist at once.
Grande said she wanted to speak up after learning that some of her fans feared outside negativity was taking the joy out of her career. “I just have to say that could not be more the f*** opposite,” she said.
As cheers filled the arena, Grande, whose full name is Ariana Grande-Butera, continued by reassuring supporters that the break was not a sign that criticism had defeated her. “I promise you, this is not what that is,” she said, emphasizing that setting boundaries and needing time away are normal parts of being human.
The two-time Grammy Award winner went on to say that no amount of outside chatter could overpower what she feels from her fans, telling the Chicago audience that the love in the room would always feel more real to her than any “noises” beyond it.
Ariana Grande addressed her decision to take a break from public work and appearances during a defiant onstage speech in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, following remarks about “ongoing scrutiny” (pictured June 26)
“This is what I will always take with me and carry with me,” Grande said of the connection she shares with her fans, adding that the rest of the criticism is not hers to hold on to.
‘I need to get out here and differentiate that from my truth for you all because I love you.’
The Florida-born belter went on to call her sold-out, 41-date Eternal Sunshine Tour the ‘greatest experience of my professional and creative life’ as well as ‘the most healing, beautiful, corrective, magnificent, special experience of my life.’
Hours earlier, Grande received public support from her mother Joan Grande, who commented on a behind-the-scenes slideshow from the set of her new Petal music video.
‘You are magnificent… and this video is incredible!’ the 69-year-old mother-of-two wrote.
‘I love it and I love you more!’
In the Petal video, directed by Christian Breslauer, the Oscar-nominated actress looked alarmingly thin and her ribcage was visibly protruding through her chest.
Grande famously reprimanded fans in 2023 that the appearance they considered her ‘healthiest’ circa 2016-2018 was actually the opposite.
The Hate That I Made You Love Me singer is scheduled to perform this Wednesday and Thursday in Chicago before kicking off her 10-night residency at The O2 Arena in London, England from August 15 to September 1.
‘Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour,’ Grande’s team told People on Sunday.
‘[The hiatus] was not a reactive or impulsive thing,’ the 33-year-old pop diva said onstage the United Center. ‘It is something that I have decided, a plan that I had quietly made a long time ago and it’s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place. And I want you to know that many things can be true at the same time’ (pictured June 6)
As the crowd roared, Grande (born Butera) continued: ‘I want to share this because I heard that my fans were worried that “negativity was ruining things for me” but I just have to say that could not be more the f*** opposite’
The two-time Grammy winner then declared that ‘no matter what noises exist out there, nothing will ever be able to distort my reality or be more real to me or louder to me than this love that we share in this room’
Hours earlier, Grande received public support from her mother Joan Grande (R, pictured in 2025), who commented on a behind-the-scenes slideshow from the set of her new Petal music video
‘You are magnificent… and this video is incredible!’ the 69-year-old mother-of-two wrote. ‘I love it and I love you more!’
In the Petal video, directed by Christian Breslauer, the Oscar-nominated actress looked alarmingly thin and her ribcage was visibly protruding through her chest
‘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.’
The R.E.M. Beauty founder dropped her eighth studio album Petal last Friday, and it received a lukewarm 6.5 review (out of 10) on Pitchfork but Rolling Stone gave it four out of five stars.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Grande’s reps for comment but did not immediately hear back.
The former Nickelodeon star was set to reunite with her Wicked: For Good leading man Jonathan Bailey to star in a West End production of Stephen Sondheim’s 1984 musical Sunday in the Park with George at the Barbican Centre in London in summer 2027.
But Empire Street Productions confirmed Grande ‘decided to step back’ and they ‘wish her nothing but the best’ as they recast the role of Dot.
