Quote from Oladosun Joshua Segun on August 4, 2026, 3:06 PM

According to her most recent chapter, Ariana Grande is expressing gratitude. Grande talked out about the time off after the "Thank U, Next" hitmaker's representative said that she would be taking a break from the spotlight after her Eternal Sunshine Tour's last date on September 1.

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“The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing,” during her August 3 show in Chicago, Grande revealed. "It is something that I had decided to plan, that I had quietly made a long time ago.”

Grande refuted claims that "negativity was ruining things" for her in response to internet criticism, stating that she took the choice from a "thoughtful and empowered place."

"Multiple things can be true at the same time," she uttered those words. "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," she added, "nothing will be able to distort my reality or be more real to me or louder to me as this love that we share."

The Grammy winner's representative said a day earlier that Grande, whose recent appearances have raised questions about her health, would be pulling back from public attention in the upcoming months.

"Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour,” in a statement on August 2, Grande's representative informed news sources. “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 "One Last Time" singer's audience make every event worthwhile, even though the 41-stop tour, which concludes in September, is a difficult undertaking for any performer.

“This tour has been a beautiful experience for her,” the statement went on. “She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”

Additionally, a person close to Grande informed news organizations that despite a physically taxing set, she “performs healthily and successfully at a very high-level night after night.”

She will be pausing other projects besides music, though. In fact, the team behind Sunday in the Park's planned West End revival featuring George stated that she will also be leaving the show.

“We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support,” on August 2, the crew posted on social media platforms. “We wish her nothing but the best.”

The musical, which would have brought Grande and her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey back together, will nevertheless play at London's Barbican in the summer of 2027. The statement also states that "casting will be announced in due course."

The 33-year-old released her eighth studio album, Petal, along with the music video for the album's lead hit, only days before she revealed her impending break.

Although Grande's participation in the song video heightened persistent worries about her health, the insider stressed that her album “is a fight song, an anthem about the love-hate relationship with the public and their toxicity.”

The singer of "Eternal Sunshine" has been outspoken about the difficulties she has encountered while leading a public life.

"I've been doing this in front of the public, and kind of been a specimen in a petri-dish since I was 16 or 17," in an interview with web series Oui Oui Baguette in December 2024, the Nickelodeon alum stated. "So, I have heard it all. I've heard every version of it, of what's wrong with me. And then you fix it, and then it's wrong for different reasons."

“It’s hard to protect yourself from that noise,” at the moment, she went on, “and I think it's something that is uncomfortable no matter what scale you're experiencing it on.”