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Ariana Grande addressed her fans directly after announcing her decision to take a “step back” from the spotlight.
“Is it OK if we get a little real tonight?” the “We Can’t Be Friends” singer said onstage Monday, August 3, at her Eternal Sunshine Tour in Chicago, per footage posted via X.
She continued, “Sometimes when a story comes out that’s 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.”
“The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing,” Grande, 33, explained. “It is something that I had decided, a plan I had quietly made a long time ago, and it’s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place.”
Grande addressed concerns that her fans “were worried that ‘negativity’ was ruining things for me,” insisting that is not the case.
“I want you to know that many things can be true at the same time,” she said. “Boundaries 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.
“No 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.”
“This is what I will take with me and carry with me, because the rest of that s*** is not mine to carry,” the Oscar nominee added to cheers from fans in attendance at the United Center.
She added, “This tour has been the most healing, beautiful, corrective, magnificent, special experience of my life.”
After sharing her heartfelt words with the crowd for around four minutes, the singer declared, “That felt good.”
“I wish words were enough to articulate just how much I love you all. Now we can keep going,” she said before continuing her set.
Grande’s rep announced on Sunday, August 2, that the Wicked actress will take a break from the spotlight after the conclusion of her Eternal Sunshine Tour. (The tour is set to wrap September 1 in London.)
“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,” her spokesperson told People.
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