Ariana Grande Addresses Hiatus During Concert in Chicago

Pop singer Ariana Grande delivered a speech during her concert at the United Center in Chicago on Monday after announcing a career hiatus. The 33-year-old performer spoke to the audience a day after her team confirmed she would take a break from public work amid ongoing scrutiny.

Grande told the crowd that her hiatus was not a reactive or impulsive thing. She explained onstage, "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."

The two-time Grammy winner addressed concerns from fans who worried that negativity was ruining things for her. "I just have to say that could not be more the f*** opposite," Grande said. "I promise you, this is not what that is. I just want to be very, very clear. Multiple things can be true at the same time. Yes, boundaries can need to be set. Human beings can need a break sometimes."

Grande 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."

The Florida-born singer added, "This is what I will always take with me and carry with me because the rest of that s*** is not mine to carry, so I don't carry it. I need to get out here and differentiate that from my truth for you all because I love you."

Grande 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."

Planned Hiatus and London Residency

Grande is scheduled to perform this Wednesday and Thursday in Chicago before starting a 10-night residency at The O2 Arena in London, England, running from August 15 to September 1.

On Sunday, Grande's team told People, "Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour." Her team added, "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."

Support From Joan Grande and Petal Video

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, with her ribcage visibly protruding through her chest.

Album Release and Upcoming Acting Projects

Grande, who is known for her four-octave vocal range, released her eighth studio album Petal last Friday. It received a 6.5 review out of 10 on Pitchfork, while Rolling Stone gave it four out of five stars. The Daily Mail reached out to Grande's reps for comment but did not immediately hear back.

The former Nickelodeon star was scheduled to reunite with her Wicked: For Good leading man Jonathan Bailey 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. Empire Street Productions confirmed Grande "decided to step back" and said they "wish her nothing but the best" as they recast the role of Dot.

The R.E.M. Beauty founder will next portray former FBI hostage negotiator Olivia Jones, the strong-willed fiancée of Harry Focker (Skyler Gisondo), in John Hamburg's comedy Focker-in-Law, which hits US and UK theaters November 25. The fourth installment of the Fockers franchise also stars Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, and Beanie Feldstein.

Addressing Weight Concerns and Public Scrutiny

Grande has addressed her weight multiple times over the years and has insisted that she is healthy despite continued speculation around her frame. In a 2024 interview with YouTuber Sally, Grande said, "There's a comfortability that people have commenting on that that I think is really dangerous."

She added, "I've been kind of doing this in front of the public and kind of been a specimen in a petri dish really since I was 16 or 17, 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. But that's everything from - even just the simplest thing - your appearance, you know?"

Grande continued in the interview, "I think in today's society, there is a comfortability that we shouldn't have at all - commenting on others' looks, appearance, what they think is going on behind the scenes or health or how they present themselves."

In a 2023 TikTok, Grande addressed concerns about her weight and explained that older photos from 2016 to 2018, which fans considered her healthiest, were taken during an unhealthy period. "I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy, but that in fact wasn't my healthy," she explained. "I know I shouldn't have to explain that, but I do feel like having an openness and some sort of vulnerability here will [mean] something good might come from it. Healthy can look different."

Last December, conservative commentator Megyn Kelly accused Grande of being "anorexic." Kelly stated, "Take a look at Ariana Grande right now, of the music industry and now also as an actress starring in Wicked. Let's check in on how Ariana, who was raised on television, on Nickelodeon... is doing. She is very clearly anorexic. If she's 90 pounds, it's a lot. She looks like you could snap her in two with your fingers."