Ariana Grande Addressed Media Scrutiny Of Her Relationship With Ethan Slater

During a Feb. 26 interview on The Zach Sang Show, Ariana Grande addressed the intense tabloid attention she received after she divorced Dalton Gomez and revealed her new relationship with Ethan Slater.

Zach Sang argued that Grande uses her new album, Eternal Sunshine, to talk to the people “who have come to their own conclusion” and “crafted their own narrative” about her, which she agreed with. “We know this about the tabloids and the media. Am I crazy? Don’t we know this?” she asked.

“We selectively remember that this is what the tabloids do to people, especially women, based on whether or not we like the person,” she continued. “We selectively leave space for humanness, for nuance. They don’t leave space for that. Well, they do for friends and family. But they turn it off when that aligns with a version of a person they have in their head that they want to believe is true.”

Over the last year, Grande has experienced a new wave of tabloid scrutiny. In July 2023, it was reported that she and her ex-husband, Gomez, had separated earlier that year, and they officially filed for divorce two months later. Around the same time, she was linked to her Wicked co-star Slater, who played SpongeBob Squarepants on Broadway and filed for divorce from his wife. Lilly Jay, in July.

Grande alluded that her forthcoming album, which will be released on March 8, will tell her story while also playing into the persona that some people have created for her. “But I don’t say this for them, I’m saying this for my fans, for myself,” she said.

When Sang asked if there was anything she wished people knew, Grande said “plenty,” but wouldn’t get into specifics. “We don’t have enough time, but if you guys want to come to La Masseria one night, please let me know,” she joked. “Of course, there is an insatiable frustration, inexplicable, hell-ish feeling in watching people misunderstand the people you love, and you.”