Ariana Grande withdraws from public events: "I can't handle other people's judgment". The metaphor of pressure in the "Petal" video

Ariana Grande has decided to step back from public events starting in September, once the "Eternal Sunshine Tour" wraps up. Behind the decision lies the weight of "the constant, relentless judgment from the public," especially on social media, where in recent years her physical appearance has been continually at the centre of speculation, criticism and comments about her weight loss.
The decision also coincides with her withdrawal from "Sunday In The Park With George," a new production of the Stephen Sondheim classic scheduled for London's Barbican in 2027.
The announcement comes just days after the release of "Petal," the single that gives its title to the singer's eighth album. In the video, Ariana plays an artist forced to go through a series of auditions in which she is judged in contradictory ways: first "not good enough," then accused of having had too little plastic surgery, then too much. In the end, exasperated, she reacts with deliberately grotesque violence, taking a chainsaw to the producers who humiliated her and winning the approval of the other candidates. A clear metaphor for the pressures and criticism the pop star has faced for years.

Grande's story has been marked from the very start by fame that arrived at a very young age. The former Disney Channel star, now thirty-three, has had to face the harshest side of celebrity, made worse by the trauma of the attack on 22 May 2017 at Manchester Arena, when 22 people lost their lives and more than 500 were injured at the end of one of her concerts.
This isn't the first time the American artist has publicly addressed the issue of media exposure. In 2023, after being flooded with comments about her noticeable weight loss, she responded with a TikTok video explaining that the body many considered "healthier" actually corresponded to the worst period of her life: "The body you're comparing my current image to was the least healthy version of me. I was on antidepressants, drinking, eating poorly. I was at the worst point of my life: I may have looked healthy to you, but it was anything but healthy."
Now, with the tour over, Ariana Grande has chosen to take a break from public exposure, in an attempt to at least partly escape the constant pressure of media attention.

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