Ariana Grande Opens Up About ‘Frustration’ With Tabloids Following ‘Hellish’ Ethan Slater Scrutiny

Ariana Grande has a lot she could say about the public scrutiny she faced in 2023 regarding rumors about her relationship with Wicked costar Ethan Slater — but for now, she’s letting the songs she wrote about the situation on Eternal Sunshine speak for themselves. For the most part.

During her Monday (Feb. 26) interview on The Zach Sang Show, the 30-year-old pop star touched a bit on her experiences with the press after gossip about her personal life reached a fever pitch last year. In short, just days after Grande’s split from estranged husband Dalton Gomez went public in July, reports that the “Positions” musician was dating Slater emerged.

Soon afterward, the SpongeBob SquarePants Broadway star’s estranged wife, Lilly Jay — with whom he shares a young son — told Page Six that Grande was “the story” behind her breakup from Slater, adding that the pop star is “not a girl’s girl.” And even though both TMZ and People reported from the jump that Slater and Grande’s romance began after both of their previous relationships were over, a narrative that the Grammy winner had acted as a so-called home-wrecker took on a life of its own.

But Grande has a different take. “We know this about the tabloids, and about the media — am I crazy? Don’t we know this?” questioned the star in the new interview. “We selectively remember that this is what the tabloids do to people, especially women, based upon if we like the person. We selectively leave space for humanness, for nuance.”

When asked whether there was anything she wishes people knew about her after the events of last year, she replied, “Plenty.”

“We don’t have enough time,” Grande continued. “We don’t need to go into any specifics, but of course there’s an insatiable frustration, an inexplicable hellish feeling with watching people misunderstand the people you love, and you.”

The Victorious alum also shared that her new album Eternal Sunshine, which arrives March 8, “says everything and nothing at the same time” about the situation. “It’s very vague and very specific, all at once,” she continued. “It was definitely the most emotional writing process, for sure.”

“When I was writing, it was with no intention for the world to hear it,” the singer added. “When I was done, I remembered that people will hear it, and how people can sometimes sensationalize things and assign meaning to certain things. I combed through just to make sure that it was what I intended. I had some sessions where I was definitely writing more emotionally and more reactively.”

Watch Ariana Grande on The Zach Sang Show below.

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