Originally appeared on E! Online.
Ariana Grande hopes her critics can be changed for the better.
The “Wicked: For Good” star seemingly addressed ongoing body-shaming comments by revisiting a message she shared amid the press tour for the first “Wicked” movie nearly one year ago.
“Resharing this from last year,” she wrote in a post on her Instagram Stories Nov. 29, “as a loving reminder to all.”
During an interview released in December, the 32-year-old became emotional as she spoke out about the way her appearance has been dissected during her years in the public eye.
“I’ve been doing this in front of the public, and been a specimen in a petri-dish since I was 16 or 17,” she said while sitting down alongside costar Cynthia Erivo for the web series “Oui Oui Baguette.” “So I have heard it all. I’ve heard every version of it, of what’s wrong with me. And then you fix it, and then it’s wrong for different reasons.”
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And the “No Tears Left to Cry” singer acknowledged that she’s not alone in facing similar critiques.
“It’s hard to protect yourself from that noise,” she continued, “and I think it’s something that is uncomfortable no matter what scale you’re experiencing it on.”
Describing the normalization of such speculation as “dangerous for all parties involved,” Grande shared how she manages to tune out the negativity she receives.
“I’m really lucky to have the support system that I have,” she said, “and to know and trust that I’m beautiful.”
Despite the “Victorious” alum’s positive outlook, she recently admitted that dealing with the pressures that come with stardom has presented challenges for her in the past.
“Until quite recently, it was really hard for me to navigate,” she told The New York Times in an interview published Nov. 5. “And I think it stripped a lot of joy out of this for me.”
Fortunately, Grande has learned to compartmentalize her public persona — and it’s made a world of difference.
“I’ve never felt this connected to my art or inspired, and that’s been such a tremendous gift,” she explained. “It’s like, ‘I don’t actually have to take on those things that were projected onto me. I can focus on my art and that can be a separate entity.’ But I had to give myself the permission to think that.”
