Arianators, stand down. Ariana Grande is issuing a call to action for fans who are “sending hateful messages” to people they believe are referenced in her new album, Eternal Sunshine.
The 30-year-old songstress issued a statement on social media in response to her followers, urging them to take a closer listen to the subtleties of the album.
“I just wanted to say anyone that is sending hateful messages to the people in my life based on your interpretation of this album is not supporting me and is absolutely doing the polar opposite of what I would ever encourage (and is also entirely misinterpreting the intention behind the music),” Grande wrote on her Instagram story. “I ask that you please do not. It is not how to support me. It is the opposite. Although this album captures a lot of painful moments, it also is woven together with a through line of deep, sincere love. If you cannot hear that, please listen more closely. Thank you.”
She followed her message with a second slide that read, “Thank you! I love you!!!!!!!”
Grande dropped her seventh studio album on Friday, following her divorce from Dalton Gomez and amid her subsequent romance with her Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater.
Earlier this month, during an interview on The Zach Sang Show, Grande offered clarity about writing her new album during an emotional time in her life.
“Even at my most heartbroken or my most pained moments of the past few years, there was so much kindness, there was so much love, there was so much honesty and transparency and respect,” Grande shared. “So even at the hardest moments of the loss and the grief that you hear on some of the album, some of the heartbreak stuff, there was so much love and transparency.”
For the artist, even her “heartbreak” songs weren’t meant to be vindictive, but rather cathartic.
“That was something that I really wanted to make sure was captured. It wasn’t like a ‘F**k you’ at all, or ever… I tried to make sure it was kind and giving credit for trying and for the goodness that there was,” Grande explained.
“That was like a tricky balance for me, because I definitely had some sessions where I was writing more emotionally and reactively,” she added. “But that’s also very human. So I didn’t want to erase all of it.”
Also on Friday, the pop star released the music video for her new track, “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love),” and it draws direct inspiration from the 2004 film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
In the video, which co-stars Evan Peters, Grande gets to an office where she’ll have her memories of her one-time beau, both good and bad, erased from her mind. As the doctors do their work, Grande thinks back on the romance as it’s permanently wiped from her memory. At the end, a box full of items that are a reminder of the relationship are burned to ash.
“I don’t wanna tiptoe, but I don’t wanna hide / But I don’t wanna feed this monstrous fire / Just wanna let this story die / And I’ll be alright,” Grande sings in the opening verse, before belting out in the bridge, “It’s somethin’ like a daydream / But I feel so seen in the night / So for now, it’s only me / And maybe that’s all I need.”
Elsewhere on the album, Grande sings about someone cheating on her in the title track as she belts out, “I’ve never seen someone lie like you do / So much, even you start to think it’s true / So now we play our separate scenes / Now, now she’s in my bed, mm-mm, layin’ on your chest / Now I’m in my head, wonderin’ how it ends.”
She also appears to reference her new beau, singing, “Hope you feel alright when you’re in her / I found a good boy and he’s on my side.”
On Saturday, Grande hit the stage on Saturday Night Live to belt out “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” with a stormy performance. She followed that up with a stunning rendition of “Imperfect For You.”
She also showed off her pipes and comedic chops with a skit alongside cast member Bowen Yang.
Less than 24 hours later, Grande is scheduled to present at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood on Sunday evening.
