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AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Ariana Grande signals defiance of weight critics with pointed social media endorsement Wed Aug 5 20:46:57 2026

Singer Ariana Grande "liked" a psychotherapist's Instagram post about choosing health over public approval, a quiet act of pushback after weeks of scrutiny over her weight and an announced retreat from public life. The 33-year-old "Wicked" star endorsed the message on Tuesday without leaving a comment, Page Six reported. The post, from New York-based psychotherapist […] The post Ariana Grande signals defiance of weight critics with pointed social media endorsement appeared first on American Almanac .

Singer Ariana Grande "liked" a psychotherapist's Instagram post about choosing health over public approval, a quiet act of pushback after weeks of scrutiny over her weight and an announced retreat from public life. The 33-year-old "Wicked" star endorsed the message on Tuesday without leaving a comment, Page Six reported . The post, from New York-based psychotherapist and relationship expert Terri Cole, featured a video of Cole applying lipstick in front of a mirror with on-screen text that read: "Unfortunately, I can confirm that not everyone will like the healthier version of you." A second line followed: "That's okay. Get healthier, anyway." Grande's endorsement landed days after her representative announced she would step away from public-facing duties once her "Eternal Sunshine" tour wraps on Sept. 1. The rep described the planned break as "much-deserved" and said Grande has dealt with "endless, ongoing public scrutiny", a reference, the outlet noted, to renewed online commentary about her weight and appearance following the release of her "Petal" music video. Cole's message struck a nerve Grande wouldn't voice herself Cole, who commands nearly 300,000 Instagram followers, wrote a lengthier caption alongside the video. She addressed the cost of personal growth in blunt terms: "That tension can be awkward to deal with sometimes. There are going to be people who celebrate the healthier version of you...and you might have those who miss the version of you that was stretched thin, keeping everyone else happy + comfortable." She continued by urging followers to hold their ground. "Keep growing and prioritizing yourself regardless. You have more strength than you likely give yourself credit for, and every step you take to honor your boundaries is proof of that." Cole also wrote that "growth has a way of shifting relationships" and that "people who are meant to be in your circle will love and appreciate your growth" rather than "just the parts of you that make everything comfortable or convenient." She closed with a call to action, asking followers to drop a yellow heart emoji if they had "had a relationship change because you finally chose YOU!" Grande chose to "like" the post, a deliberate, visible gesture on a platform where every celebrity interaction is tracked, but said nothing publicly beyond the tap. Celebrity culture being what it is in 2026, the silence spoke plenty. The broader conversation around celebrity health and wellness has grown louder in recent months, with public figures increasingly pushed to justify their bodies in real time. At her Chicago concert, Grande called the hiatus decision 'empowered' On Monday, the night before Cole's post went up, Grande addressed the scrutiny head-on during a concert in Chicago. She did not name specific critics or outlets but made her position clear. "No matter what noises exist out there, nothing will ever be able to distort my reality." She also pushed back against any suggestion that her planned break was a reaction to the criticism. Grande told the crowd that the hiatus was "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." The framing mattered: she wanted the audience to understand this was not a retreat forced by trolls but a choice made on her own terms. Grande's own decision to step back from public life mirrors a pattern among high-profile women navigating the collision between fame and personal well-being. Her earlier exit from a West End revival signaled the same instinct, a performer reaching the limit of what constant visibility demands. An insider described a performer stretched to the breaking point A source close to Grande painted a grimmer picture to Page Six earlier in the week. The insider said Grande has been ground down by the pace of her schedule and the relentless public commentary. "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]." On Tuesday, a separate source told Page Six that Grande plans to spend her hiatus with family, friends, and boyfriend Ricky Alvarez, her former backup dancer. Grande, 33, and Alvarez, 35, previously dated from 2015 to 2016. They recently reconciled after Grande's split from Ethan Slater. The weight commentary that triggered this cycle traces back to Grande's "Petal" music video. The release renewed online chatter about her appearance, the kind of body-focused scrutiny that has dogged female performers for decades and shows no sign of abating. Other entertainers have confronted similar pressure in their own ways. Shania Twain recently declared her body "not shameable," a direct refusal to engage on critics' terms. Whether Grande's hiatus lasts weeks or months remains unclear. Her tour concludes Sept. 1, and no timeline for a return has been announced. What is clear is that she has chosen to let a psychotherapist's Instagram post do the talking she will not do herself, a calculated move that says everything without saying anything at all. The entertainment industry demands that performers bare their lives to the public and then punishes them for what the public sees. Grande's quiet "like" on a therapist's post about getting healthier is a small act, but in a culture that treats celebrity bodies as public property, even stepping away to heal becomes a statement. A culture that eats its performers alive and then wonders why they leave the stage has no right to act surprised when someone finally walks away. The post Ariana Grande signals defiance of weight critics with pointed social media endorsement appeared first on American Almanac .