Ariana Grande has been the subject of all kinds of speculation of late after her decision to step back from the spotlight once her concert tour is over. At Monday's Chicago stop on her Eternal Sunshine Tour, the singer decided to address things herself—and she made clear this is not about a meltdown. "The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing," she told the crowd, calling it "a plan that I had quietly made a long time ago" and "a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place," reports the Hollywood Reporter.
The earlier statement from her rep had cited "endless, ongoing public scrutiny," but Grande told fans that things can get "blown of out proportion" quickly. "I heard that my fans were worried that negativity was ruining things for me, but I just have to say that could not be more the far opposite," she said, per USA Today. "I just want to be very, very clear (that) multiple things can be true at the same time: Boundaries 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 and creative life."
The tour, which ends Sept. 1 in London, wraps up a run that's included two albums in two years, an Oscar-nominated turn in Wicked, and work on the film Focker-in-Law, due Nov. 25. The 33-year-old's thin frame has generated lots of chatter that she's in a bad place mentally and physically, and a Washington Post columnist finds that sensitive territory nearly impossible to navigate.
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