\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tAriana Grande is standing by her \u201cPetal\u201d music video, which recently thrust her into the center of heightened public scrutiny concerning her appearance.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tAriana Grande (Literally) Hacks Away at Her Critics in Gory \u2018Petal\u2019 Music Video:\u00a0Watch\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tFrom Live Debuts To \u2018Real\u2019 Talk, Here\u2019s What Changed During Ariana Grande\u2019s First Concert After \u2018Petal\u2019: \u2018I\u2019d Like To Clear the\u00a0Air\u2019\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Ariana](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/P103J7WT-e1785358189928.jpg?w=237&h=147&crop=1\")
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\t\t\t\t\tAriana Grande Speaks Out After Announcing Break, Says She \u2018Cannot Wait\u2019 to See Fans on Remaining Tour\u00a0Dates\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tIn a Wednesday (Aug. 5) post on Instagram \u2014 under which the pop star limited comments \u2014 Grande shared behind-the-scenes snaps of herself and her costars on set of the visual, which dropped five days prior. In one photo, she and director Christian Breslauer observe a monitor showing the camera\u2019s angle while filming a scene in which she stands covered in fake blood, and in another picture, a friend laughs while groping one of the artificial breasts Grande sported during a different scene.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201ci love this video with my entire heart,\u201d the Grammy winner wrote in the caption. \u201c[I] must express my deepest, endless gratitude to my brilliant collaborators and friends who have brought this song of mine to life with me and who helped tell this story \u2026 thank you to everyone who gave their brilliance, care and time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tArriving on the same day as Grande\u2019s eighth studio album, Petal<\/em>, the title track\u2019s video takes aim at the critics who\u2019ve spent years tearing into her looks and personal life. Playing an aspiring entertainer named Pepper, she undergoes a series of auditions \u2014 repeatedly applying feedback from executives on how she should change her appearance, from getting \u201cwork done\u201d to offering more \u201csex appeal\u201d \u2014 before ultimately hacking away at the never-satisfied commenters with a chainsaw.<\/p>\n \n\tIronically, the chatter surrounding Grande\u2019s appearance was seemingly never louder than right after the video dropped, with countless people online expressing negative reactions in particular to how slender the star looks in the project. A couple of days later, her rep told People<\/em> that the Victorious <\/em>alum was planning to take \u201ca step back from visibility\u201d after her Eternal Sunshine Tour concludes in early September.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cShe 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,\u201d the statement noted at the time.<\/p>\n \n\tThe following night, however, Grande took the stage in Chicago and stressed that the break \u2014 which involves her dropping out of the cast of the upcoming West End revival of Sunday in the Park With George <\/em>\u2014 was not a \u201creactive\u201d decision.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt is something that I had decided,\u201d she told fans at the United Center. \u201cIt\u2019s a plan that I had quietly made a long time ago, and it\u2019s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place \u2026 Multiple things can be true at the same time. Boundaries can need to be set. Human beings can need a break sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tGrande will play two more shows in Chicago on Wednesday (Aug. 5) and Thursday (Aug. 6), after which she\u2019ll travel to London for 10 tour-closing nights at the O2 Arena. The trek \u2014 which supports three-week Billboard 200-topping album Eternal Sunshine <\/em>\u2014 will wrap on Sept. 1<\/p>\n \n\tWatch the \u201cPetal\u201d music video below.<\/p>\n