RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Add Page Six on Google Ariana Grande brushed off online "negativity" as she addressed her plans to step away from the spotlight at her "Eternal Sunshine" show in Chicago on Monday.
"I heard that my fans were worried that negativity was ruining things for me, but I just have to say that could not be more the f–k opposite," she told the audience, who cheered in response.
The 33-year-old — who is facing public scrutiny over her weight following the release of her "Petal" music video — also insisted 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," she continued. "Or how it feels to make art with the people that I love and respect. Absolutely nothing will change that or distort that for me".
Earlier in her four-minute mid-concert speech, Grande said that choosing to temporarily retreat from public life after her tour "was not a reactive or impulsive" decision.
"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," she explained. "And I want you to know that many things can be true at the same time."
The Grammy Awards winner also emphasized that "boundaries can need to be set" and "human beings can need a break sometimes" as she defended her career decision.
Grande then called her "Eternal Sunshine" tour , which wraps Sept. 1, "the greatest experience of my professional and creative life."
"I love you and this is what I will always take with me and carry with me because the rest of that sh-t is not mine to carry, so I don’t carry it," she told the crowd. "I need to get out here and differentiate that from my truth for you all because I love you."
“That felt good,” the “Wicked” star concluded before resuming her performance at United Center. “I wish that words were enough to articulate how much I love you.”
Over the weekend, Grande’s rep announced that the "7 Rings" singer will be “taking a step back from visibility” when her tour ends.
“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,” the spokesperson explained.
However, a source clarified to Page Six that Grande is bowing out because “she’s been overworked.”
“She’s been nonstop and it’s taking a toll. She’s never handled the public scrutiny well and constant chatter about her weight [doesn’t help],” the insider told us Monday.
Grande pulled out of the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George," which she was set to star in opposite her “Wicked” co-star Jonathan Bailey next summer.
She also exited "American Horror Story" Season 13 in July, allegedly due to scheduling conflicts with her tour, Variety reported at the time.
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