Ariana Grande’s Golden Globe nomination for her role as Glinda in the musical Wicked has been marred by a social media debate about her physical appearance.
Netizens engaged in a heated debate shortly after the announcement was made earlier today (December 9), with a portion of her fanbase expressing concern over her weight—which they argue could negatively affect her young audience’s self-esteem—and the other jumping to defend her.
The discussion is only the latest in a long string of comments surrounding the actress’ thin physique that surface every time she participates in an event promoting the movie.
“What happened to her body?” asked one fan, posting a photo comparison that had users describe Grande’s current version as “bony” and “emaciated.”
Ariana Grande’s recent Golden Globe nomination reignited the debate surrounding her appearance, with some users calling her the “bride-of-Skeletor”
Others went as far as to accuse the official images of the actress dressed as her character in Wicked to be heavily altered digitally in an attempt to mask what they believed to be the actress’ “unhealthy“ appearance.
“Look at all the Photoshop and makeup she needs to look like a 7!“ a user argued. “It’s all hype with Ariana and never substance!”
Despite efforts by Grande’s defenders to label the conversation as “misogynistic,” “sexist,“ or an attempt at “body-shaming“ the songwriter, the topic has done anything but grow over the last few months, becoming more antagonistic towards her along the way.
A particularly harsh comment wondered if a segment of Grande’s audience had been alienated by her new appearance: “I know for a fact that a substantial part of that base can’t stand the woke, whitewashed, bride-of-skeletor weirdo she’s turned into.”
The most recent uproar followed her appearance at the Wicked premiere in Los Angeles last month (November 9). Fans described her look as “skeletal“ and “robotic,“ as the star showed up to the event in a dress that accentuated her ribcage and neck bones.
The pictures also prompted speculation that Grande suffers from an eating disorder. “She has always been small but looks skeletal. Her hair has also thinned out a lot,“ said one user at the time, with others labeling her look as “anorexic.”
Grande herself addressed the controversy, assuring her followers that she feels better than ever and asking people not to comment on her appearance
Ariana Grande has been nominated for Best Supporting Female Actor! 🩷 #WickedMovie #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/C3SgndjdPU
— Wicked Movie (@wickedmovie) December 9, 2024
The actress has not remained silent on the issue, addressing the concerns directly in August.
Grande recognized the concern her fans showed but asked them not to “comment on [her] body“ after a photo comparison between her current look and her appearance after being named Billboard’s 2018 Woman of the Year, which began going viral on social media.
The body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of it,“ Grande said in a video uploaded on TikTok. “I was on a lot of antidepressants, drinking on them, and eating poorly. It was the lowest point in my life.”
what happened to her body ….huh pic.twitter.com/wLNwXbxb7O
— sᴀɴᴄʜᴏ (@UTD_pla) December 9, 2024
The 2018 photos show the actress with long, silky, dark hair and noticeably rounder cheeks, leading netizens to speculate about her suffering from a disorder, stating that she may have been using aggressive weight loss methods like Ozempic.
“The body that you consider to be my healthiest wasn’t, in fact, healthy,“ Grande stated.
Despite Wicked’s box office success, the movie’s promotional push was surrounded by controversy at every turn
Ariana Grande’s weight hasn’t been the only conversation tarnishing the movie’s promotional tour. As Bored Panda previously reported, fans have also criticized Cynthia Erivo for her reaction to a mid-October fan edit of the film’s poster.
“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen,“ Erivo wrote, labeling the image as “degrading“ and stating that it was an attempt to “[erase] her.”
The creator of the edit later took to social media to defend themselves, stating that the changes were made out of love for the original Broadway poster and in no way an attempt to offend the actress.
“It’s not that serious! What a snowflake!“ one fan wrote, with many others echoing their sentiment.
The movie’s LA premiere also coincided with a controversy created by Mattel erroneously printing the URL of an NSFW website on the back of its Elphaba and Glinda dolls. This caused a never-before-seen upsurge in visits to the site and elicited concern from parents.
Despite these issues, Wicked has been nothing short of a massive success, with it grossing over $34.8 million at the box office during the Thanksgiving holiday, making it a record-breaking weekend alongside Disney’s Moana, and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II.
“Why does she look sick?” one user asked, while others joined in to comment on the actress’ appearance
