Ariana Grande expands on decision to ‘step back from visibility’, telling fans it was ‘not reactive or impulsive’

Ariana Grande has expanded upon her recent decision to take “a step back from visibility” when her tour ends next month, as a result of what a spokesperson called “endless, ongoing public scrutiny”.

On Monday night during the first show of a three-night run in Chicago, the 33-year-old musician and actor read from notes as she told fans: “The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing. It is something that I had decided to plan quietly, a long time ago.”

The planned step-back includes Grande’s withdrawal from a production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George at London’s Barbican next summer, where she would have appeared alongside her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey.

Grande appeared to reference ongoing public concern about her weight, which heightened after the release of the video for Petal, the lead single from her new album of the same name, last week. When shared on Instagram, the video received a community note pointing eating disorder sufferers towards resources.

“I heard my fans were worried negativity was ruining things for me but that could not be more than the opposite,” she said. “Boundaries need to be set, human beings do need a break sometimes.”

Grande said she had made her decision from a “thoughtful and empowered place”. She continued: “No matter what noises exist out there, nothing will ever be able to distort my reality, or be more real to me than this love that we share.”

Grande’s new album frequently expresses her frustration with the expectations of the public; in the video for Petal, she murders a group of critics with a chainsaw. On stage in Chicago, she said: “I love you, this is what I want always ... the rest of that [commentary] is not mine to carry.”

She called her current tour “one of the most healing, beautiful, correct and special experiences” of her life. The run continues with a 10-night residency at the O2 Arena in London from 15 August.