{"id":27640,"date":"2026-08-04T19:12:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T14:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=27640"},"modified":"2026-08-04T19:12:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T14:12:35","slug":"ariana-grande-addresses-taking-a-step-back-from-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=27640","title":{"rendered":"Ariana Grande Addresses Taking a &#8216;Step Back&#8217; From Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrities\/ariana-grande\/\"><strong>Ariana Grande<\/strong><\/a> addressed her fans directly after announcing her decision to take a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/ariana-grande-to-step-back-from-public-amid-scrutiny-rep\/\">\u201cstep back\u201d from the spotlight<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs it OK if we get a little real tonight?\u201d the \u201cWe Can\u2019t Be Friends\u201d singer said onstage Monday, August 3, at her <em>Eternal Sunshine Tour<\/em> in Chicago, per footage posted via <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/D0LLIKE\/status\/2084467091898507436?s=46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>She continued, \u201cSometimes when a story comes out that\u2019s not directly from me, things can get a little blown out of proportion, so I just wanted to speak to my fans directly tonight, because I love you so much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing,\u201d Grande, 33, explained. \u201cIt is something that I had decided, a plan I had quietly made a long time ago, and it\u2019s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grande addressed concerns that her fans \u201cwere worried that \u2018negativity\u2019 was ruining things for me,\u201d insisting that is not the case.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want you to know that many things can be true at the same time,\u201d she said. \u201cBoundaries can need to be set, human beings can need a break sometimes, and also, this can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional career.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo matter what noises exist out there, nothing will be able to distort my reality or be more real to me or not as real to me than this love that we share and how it feels to make art with people that I love and respect. Absolutely nothing will change that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is what I will take with me and carry with me, because the rest of that s*** is not mine to carry,\u201d the Oscar nominee added to cheers from fans in attendance at the United Center.<\/p>\n<div class=\"link-related article link-related__with-thumb\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article__thumbnail related-ab-test\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/ariana-grande-addresses-fans-after-step-back-announcement\/\" target=\"\" data-source=\"01\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"article__figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:56.25%;\" class=\"ratio-based-placeholder\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2254666235.jpg?crop=0px%2C74px%2C1399px%2C792px&amp;resize=400%2C225&amp;quality=40&amp;strip=all\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2254666235.jpg?crop=0px%2C74px%2C1399px%2C792px&amp;resize=200%2C113&amp;quality=55&amp;strip=all 200w, https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2254666235.jpg?crop=0px%2C74px%2C1399px%2C792px&amp;resize=300%2C169&amp;quality=55&amp;strip=all 300w, https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2254666235.jpg?crop=0px%2C74px%2C1399px%2C792px&amp;resize=400%2C225&amp;quality=40&amp;strip=all 400w, https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2254666235.jpg?crop=0px%2C74px%2C1399px%2C792px&amp;resize=600%2C338&amp;quality=40&amp;strip=all 600w, https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2254666235.jpg?crop=0px%2C74px%2C1399px%2C792px&amp;resize=800%2C450&amp;quality=40&amp;strip=all 800w, https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2254666235.jpg?crop=0px%2C74px%2C1399px%2C792px&amp;resize=900%2C506&amp;quality=55&amp;strip=all 900w, https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2254666235.jpg?crop=0px%2C74px%2C1399px%2C792px&amp;resize=1000%2C563&amp;quality=70&amp;strip=all 1000w, https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2254666235.jpg?crop=0px%2C74px%2C1399px%2C792px&amp;resize=1200%2C675&amp;quality=70&amp;strip=all 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 400px, (max-width: 770px) calc(100vw - 6em), 200px\" alt=\"Ariana Grande Addresses Fans for 1st Time Since 'Step Back' Announcement\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"article__content\">\n<h3 class=\"article__title\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article__title-link related-ab-test\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/ariana-grande-addresses-fans-after-step-back-announcement\/\" target=\"\" data-source=\"01\"><br \/>\n    <span class=\"related-badge\">Related: <\/span><span class=\"related-title\">Ariana Grande Addresses Fans for 1st Time Since &#8216;Step Back&#8217; Announcement<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n\t\t\tAriana Grande is speaking directly to her fans after a spokesperson for the pop star revealed her plans to take a step back from the public eye amid online scrutiny and concern over her body. \u201cSee you tonight, my sweethearts!!!\u201d Grande, 33, wrote via her Instagram Story on Monday, August 3, referring to ticket holders [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>She added, \u201cThis tour has been the most healing, beautiful, corrective, magnificent, special experience of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After sharing her heartfelt words with the crowd for around four minutes, the singer declared, \u201cThat felt good.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"news-block\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form  \">\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-narrow.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"newsletter-form__background background-narrow\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-wide.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"newsletter-form__background background-wide\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-signup__success\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<h3>Thank You!<\/h3>\n<p>You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI wish words were enough to articulate just how much I love you all. Now we can keep going,\u201d she said before continuing her set.<\/p>\n<p>Grande\u2019s rep announced on Sunday, August 2, that the <em>Wicked<\/em> actress will take a break from the spotlight after the conclusion of her<em> Eternal Sunshine Tour<\/em>. (The tour is set to wrap September 1 in London.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe 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,\u201d her spokesperson told <em>People<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ariana Grande addressed her fans directly after announcing her decision to take a \u201cstep back\u201d from the spotlight. \u201cIs it OK if we get a little real tonight?\u201d the \u201cWe Can\u2019t Be Friends\u201d singer said onstage Monday, August 3, at her Eternal Sunshine Tour in Chicago, per footage posted via X. She continued, \u201cSometimes when&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2246050923-Ariana-Grande-Addresses-Decision-to-Step-Back-From-Spotlight.jpg?crop=400px%2C377px%2C586px%2C306px&resize=1200%2C630&quality=70&strip=all","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}