Ariana Grande will take a break from public life once her "Eternal Sunshine" tour wraps in September, SPIN reported on August 3. Her spokesperson said Grande is "taking a step back from visibility" after the tour, citing "endless, ongoing public scrutiny" of her recent appearances, and that she is looking forward to "ending on a high note, both healthily and happily" before "a much deserved break from public facing work and appearances."
The break also affects her acting schedule. Grande has withdrawn from a planned 2027 West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George," which would have reunited her with Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey and marked her West End debut at London's Barbican Centre. Producers of the production said they fully support her decision. She had also recently pulled out of the new season of American Horror Story over touring commitments, though she remains attached to the Meet the Parents sequel Focker-In-Law, due in November.
Grande addressed the announcement directly from the stage during the first of three shows at Chicago's United Center on August 3, NME reported the next day. "The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing," she told the crowd. "It was something that I have decided. A plan that I had quietly made a long time ago." She added that more than one thing can be true at once, pushing back on the idea that the decision was a response to online negativity about her body: "boundaries need to be set, human beings can need a break sometimes."
The announcement landed three days after the release of Grande's eighth studio album, "petal," whose title track video was widely read as commenting on public scrutiny of women's appearances. Grande is booked to play two more Chicago shows before heading to a ten night residency at London's O2 Arena, running August 15 through September 1.
Her next chart placement and a London collaboration both followed this story: petal gave her the top spot on the US albums chart, and Cynthia Erivo later joined her onstage at a London show.
The facts
- Ariana Grande will step back from visibility after her Eternal Sunshine tour
- Her reps cited ongoing public scrutiny of her appearance
- She has withdrawn from a 2027 West End revival of Sunday in the Park with George
- She addressed the decision onstage in Chicago on August 3
- She said the plan was made quietly a long time ago
- The announcement followed the release of her album petal by three days
- Her O2 Arena residency in London runs August 15 to September 1
How this checks out
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