‘You Can Barely Recognize Her’: ‘Wicked’ Star Ariana Grande Raises Concern over Her ‘Fragile’ Appearance

Iconic entertainer Ariana Grande, 31, has garnered significant attention online during her promotional endeavors for her movie “Wicked.” Photos showing the Hollywood star at two of the film’s premieres have left social media users taken aback, with many expressing concern over Grande’s tiny frame.

All dressed up for an enchanting affair, the “7 Rings” singer looked pretty in pastel pink at the Australian photocall for the premiere of “Wicked” in Sydney on November 5.

Playing to her character Glinda’s elegant style, Grande donned a strapless corset with three streaks of pale pink fabric wrapped around it in bows.

She paired this with a striking princess-inspired skirt that ended just above her ankles. Completing the look, Grande sported closed-toe heels with bows attached to the front, and kept her accessories at a minimum, only donning stud earrings and two rings on her fingers. Her hair, which was pulled away from her face, was fashioned into a classic high bun.

On November 9, the 31-year-old appeared at the Los Angeles premiere of the film. Yet again, she wore an all-pink outfit, but instead of a two-piece ensemble, she donned a checkered-print gown.

The bodice of the strapless dress, which accentuated the top half of Grande’s figure, connected seamlessly with the gown’s lower half, puffing out into a skirt that hung high in the front and low in the back.

Elevating the already eye-catching piece, Grande added a light shawl that tied at the front and wore sparkly silver heels. The star accessorized with a matching hairbow on one side of her bun, checkered gloves, and pearl earrings.

Allowing both her outfits to speak for themselves, Grande adorned her face with light makeup, including shimmering eyeshadow and pink-tinted lip gloss.

Several photos shared online show the star posing for cameras on the carpet of both events, where she was also joined by her co-star Cynthia Erivo, who sported chic avant-garde green ensembles for both premieres.

In addition to images, a standout video was posted on Facebook by Access Hollywood, which showed the heartwarming moment Grande and Erivo were honored with festive gifts from the media outlet. Both stars conveyed how grateful and touched they were by the generous gesture.

Grande received a nicely wrapped pink and white box that had a specially made Christmas ornament with a picture of her dog, Toulouse, inside. Erivo received the same gift, but hers came wrapped in a black and green box and had a picture of her pup, Caleb.

Upon seeing the media of Grande at the “Wicked” events, social media users quickly flooded online forums with their opinions. Many expressed worry over the artist’s physique.

“I have absolutely nothing against Ariana Grande, she’s a great artist, but is she sick, maybe I’m missing something, she looks like unhealthy skinny [sic],” penned an X user.

An Instagrammer echoed, “She doesn’t look healthy, too fragile and the color of her skin looks dull. I don’t say this to be mean, I really hope she’s ok 💔,” while another opined, “she looks sick and like 70 years old. what is she doing to her face [sic].”

“She looks unwell,” added someone else. The public concern continued with comments such as, “Arianna doesn’t look well, not at all,” and “Ariana is being swallowed up by bad woke celebrities, sorry to see such beautiful talent get destroyed inside and out, you can barely recognize her.”

Another netizen chimed in with, “You can tell how sick Arianna is to stay beautiful.” Directing their comment to Grande’s admirers, someone else expressed, “it’s just shocking to see ariana’s fans say ‘omg stop commenting on her body’ as if it’s *wrong* for people to be concerned with how waif-like thin she is [sic].”

“Bring back the old Ariana Grande 😩😩,” begged an observer. Agreeing with the sentiment, a spectator wrote, “Arianna, you are too thin, come back [sic] the way you were before.”

“This Ariana grande [sic] was very beautiful back then but nowadays I don’t know what happened to her🤔🤔🤔🤔,” added a fellow commenter.

Adding their opinion while they watched the movie’s trailer, another remarked, “im watching this trailer for ‘Wicked’ and, i love her, but ariana looks way too skinny (it doesn’t look healthy) [sic].”

Grande is no stranger to receiving such comments about her appearance, as her physique has frequently been discussed by the public. Last year, on April 11, 2023, the “Side to Side” musician took to TikTok to address all the ongoing chatter in a video message.

After greeting her followers warmly and pointing out her dislike for having to record this type of video, Grande said, “I just wanted to address your concerns about my body, and talk a little bit about what it means to be a person with a body, and to be seen, and to be paid such close attention to.”

She continued, “I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what. If you think you’re saying something good or well-intentioned, whatever it is: Healthy/unhealthy, big/small, this/that, sexy/not sexy […] We should really work towards not doing that as much.”

Grande went on to reason that there are appropriate ways to compliment someone or even ignore something that may be off-putting, without adversely impacting one’s well-being.

The singer and actress then shared, “I just also wanted to say, one: There are many different kinds of beautiful, there are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful. I know personally for me, the body that you have been comparing my current body to, was the unhealthiest version of my body.”

Grande revealed that she had been on many different antidepressants and was consuming alcohol while taking them. She also noted how she was eating poorly, and called this moment in time “the lowest point” of her life.

Although she acknowledged that she was under no obligation to share such details in the first place, she hoped that being open and vulnerable would result in positive outcomes.

“The second thing is, you never know what someone is going through. So, even if you are coming from a loving place and a caring place, that person, probably, is working on it or has a support system that they are working on it with. You never know,” mentioned Grande.

Toward the end of her video, she stated, “I just wanted to extend some love your way and tell you that you’re beautiful, no matter what phase you’re in […] No matter what you’re going through, no matter what weight, no matter what — how you like to do your makeup these days, no matter what cosmetic procedures you’ve had or not or anything.”

Although Grande has yet to address the most recent comments about her physical appearance and health, she did disclose that she modified certain aspects of her pop icon persona to take on her role as Glinda in “Wicked.”

Speaking to the New York Times alongside Cynthia Erivo in October, Ariana Grande revealed that she had let go of her signature high ponytail, and altered her voice pitch to fully embody the essence of Glinda.

“It was really important to erase as much of myself as possible so that they could just be looking at Glinda,” divulged Grande.

According to its IMDb description, “Wicked,” which is set to release on November 22, promises to transport viewers to the mystical Land of Oz. The plot follows the friendship of Elphaba (played by Erivo), who is a misunderstood young woman because of her skin’s green color, and Glinda, a beloved girl.

Elphaba and Glinda become friends at Shiz University, but their relationship reaches a crossroads after an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.