Ariana Grande takes a break after her tour due to ongoing public criticism

Ariana Grande has announced that she will be stepping back from public life once her ongoing Eternal Sunshine Tour wraps up. A spokesperson for the singer told the American magazine People that Grande will be taking a break from public performances and appearances after finishing the tour. As a direct result, she is withdrawing from the West End revival of the musical Sunday in the Park With George, which had been scheduled for the summer of 2027 in London.

The reason behind this decision is the relentless public scrutiny of her appearance and weight. After Grande recently released her eighth studio album Petal, along with the music video for the title single, online discussion about her looks flared up again. In the video she addresses the criticism in a way that is hard to miss: she mows down figurative naysayers who tell her she is "not good enough," has "no sex appeal," and needs to "get some work done." Grande's spokesperson put it this way: "She is looking forward to finishing the tour at a high level, both healthy and happy, after which she will take a well deserved break from public facing work and appearances, something that has led to endless, ongoing public criticism. This tour has been a beautiful experience. She loves her fans and has enjoyed every single minute of it."

Grande had been set to star alongside her former Wicked co star Jonathan Bailey in the new production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical Sunday in the Park With George. The show, which made its Broadway debut in 1984 with Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, is based on the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. Production company Empire Street Productions confirmed the news and said the show at the Barbican Centre in London will go ahead as planned, with a new cast to be announced at a later date. In a statement, the production house wrote: "We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our full understanding and support."

The Eternal Sunshine Tour is now in its final stretch. After three concerts in Chicago on August 3, 5 and 6, the tour closes with ten nights at the O2 Arena in London, running from August 15 through September 1. It is Grande's first major tour in nearly seven years, drawing from her 2024 album Eternal Sunshine and her 2020 album Positions, with songs from her new album Petal added to the mix, including Hate That I Made You Love Me, which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and the title track Petal itself. For her Dutch and Belgian fans it is worth noting that the London shows in August are her closest European dates.

The debate around Grande's body has been a recurring theme for years. In a 2024 interview she became emotional when asked how she dealt with the pressure to always look perfect. She described herself as "a specimen in a petri dish" since she was sixteen or seventeen years old. "I have heard it all. Every version of what is supposedly wrong with me. And then you adjust and it turns out to be wrong for different reasons," she said. She warned that commenting on someone's appearance and weight is dangerous "for all parties involved." After the tour, Grande will still be seen in cinemas: she has a role in Focker in Law, the latest installment in the Meet the Parents franchise with Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, which premieres on November 25.