ARIANA Grande has gone from a child actress to a worldwide popstar and now starring in the long-awaited Wicked film – heavily surrounded by rumours of Oscar nominations.
And while it looks like she’s played her cards well to get the part of the Good Witch Glinda – Ariana past has often cased a shadow over her super-star status.
From licking doughnuts and shouting ‘I hate America’ in her teen years to being accused of ‘stealing men’ and ‘blackfishing’ to carve out her music career, the 31-year-old has been swept up in her fair share of drama.
And to add insult to injury, recently actress Cassandra Peterson went public saying she was ‘the worst celebrity’ she’d ever met. So why has Ariana’s path to stardom been so treacherous leading up to Wicked? Fabulous investigates.
Young & ‘Offensive’
Propelled into stardom at the age of 16 as the goofy and dimwitted Cat Valentine in the hit Nickelodeon show Victorious, Ariana soon won over audiences and became the most popular actress from the show.
It led her to be the co-star of Sam & Cat four years later on the same TV show – but she soon decided to move on to pursue her singing career.
All seemed to be going well for the red-head as she released her debut album Your Truly in 2013 which was a success across the world.
While it had no number-one hits – it did secure Ariana a second album in 2015 titled My Everything which featured successful songs like Break Free and Problem.
But rumours whirled and fans started to talk about how stardom and newfound attention could have been getting too much for Ariana who was spotted at the age of 22 licking doughnuts on display in a store and saying she hated America.
Taking to Youtube, she said: “First of all, I mean, my behavior was very offensive, and I apologized.
“There’s no excuse or there’s nothing to justify it.
“As human beings we all say and do things that we don’t mean at all sometimes, and we have to learn from it,” she said. “I think one of the biggest things I learned from that was what it feels like to disappoint so many people who love and believe in you, and that’s an excruciating feeling.”
But it wouldn’t be the last time Ariana would slip up in the watchful eyes of the public.
Later, Ariana admitted to stopping interviews for a while as she was afraid of the ‘diva’ label that kept cropping up at the time which lost gigs at the MLB All-Star Game and the White House.
Homewrecker
Like any superstar, Ariana has had to dodge rumours about her dating life ever since she got into the public eye – especially her being tangled up in relationships.
It also started when she dated Big Sean in 2014, who made their relationship public when they went on the red carpet together in 2015 at the Grammys.
I walk in, go downstairs, and guess what little girl is sitting cross-legged on the couch listening to music? … It rhymes with ‘Smariana Schmande.
Naya Rivera
However, it was clear to most that their relationship was never going to last, especially after she reportedly ‘stole’ Big Sean from Naya Rivera, an actress who tragically passed in 2020 in a boating accident.
Before her passing, she did write a tell-all book about her time in Hollywood titled Sorry Not Sorry where she heavily hinted at Ariana’s involvement in her engagement to Big Sean being called off.
Naya wrote: “I walk in, go downstairs, and guess what little girl is sitting cross-legged on the couch listening to music? … It rhymes with ‘Smariana Schmande. I learned that I was no longer getting married from the internet and at the same time as the rest of the world. Not only were we no longer getting married, but apparently we weren’t even together anymore.
Not long after, Ariana and Sean began dating leading many to question if there was any crossover.
Recently, she’s been accused yet again of splitting up a couple – this time her fellow Wicked co-star Ethan Slater.
It seems the pair met while filming the much-anticipated movie and their relationship blossomed while they were both married – although sources behind the scenes claim they were both separated at the time.
Furious fans were quick to note Ethan’s wife, Lily Jay, had very recently given birth to their first child when rumours of their love started to surface.
Breaking her silence, Lily was reported to have told Page Six: “[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl.
“My family is just collateral damage.”
People on X, formerly known as Twitter, were riled up, one wrote: “I notice how everyone is treating Ariana being a homewrecker too lightly… they really don’t care that she’s a bad person/cheater.”
“Ariana has caused many a heartbreak in her life. Homewrecker,” another chimed in.
At first, Ethan and Ariana kept quiet as they both were in divorce proceedings – but it seems the pair are now open about their relationship sharing moments on stage at the premiere of the film and discussing their relationship in interviews.
“He’s always that adorable,” Ariana told Entertainment Tonight at the Los Angeles premiere of Wicked. “And he’s so amazing in this film. He’s such an amazing person. I’m so happy people are getting to know him. My heart is very happy.”
Without addressing the rumours specifically, Ariana has said this about the pair’s relationship “The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it.
“That was definitely a tough ride.”
Fans of the singer have supported the relationship and are adamant she did nothing wrong. One wrote on X: “Arian and Ethan are so cute together I don’t care what anyone says, she’s happy and I am so happy for her.”
“Ariana and Ethan are so cute together, I’m so happy for them both and especially Ariana,” another chimed in.
