“My fans were worried that negativity was running things for me,” Grande said on stage, later adding that “human beings can need a break sometimes.”

Ariana Grande pauses concert, explains why she’s taking break in emotional speech: ‘Boundaries need to be set’

“My fans were worried that negativity was running things for me,” Grande said on stage, later adding that “human beings can need a break sometimes.”

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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August 4, 2026 9:16 a.m. ET

Ariana Grande performing at the 2025 Oscars. Credit:

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- Ariana Grande hit back at rumors of “negativity” fueling her upcoming break from public appearances.

- The pop star said in an emotional speech at her *Eternal Sunshine* album tour that notion “could not be more the f--- opposite.”

- Grande added that “human beings can need a break sometimes” after it was revealed that she’ll take a hiatus from public life.

Pop icon and Oscar-nominated actress Ariana Grande has clarified in an emotional speech on stage her recently announced decision to take a temporary hiatus from public appearances amid social scrutiny.

One day after a representative for the 33-year-old *Wicked* star and “Petal” singer-songwriter announced that Grande would be “taking a step back from visibility” after her ongoing *Eternal Sunshine* album tour wraps Sept. 1 in London, Grande paused her performance in Chicago to clarify rumors about the upcoming break.

Grande addressed United Center crowd mid-show, telling them she 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 f--- opposite,” she explained.

“Multiple things can be true at the same time. Boundaries need to be set,” Grande explained, adding that “human beings can need a break sometimes.”

She additionally clarified that the current *Eternal Sunshine* album tour “can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional and creative career,” and said that her feelings about being on tour with her fans was entirely separate from her decision to take a step back from public life in the weeks ahead.

“I just wanted to make that quite plain,” emphasized Grande.

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“I have one more thing to say. No matter what noises exist out there, nothing will ever be able to distort my reality or be more real to me or louder to me than this love that we share,” she explained, telling attendees at the concert that she wanted to “differentiate that from my truth for you all.”

She finished the speech by telling concertgoers that the tour was the “most healing, beautiful, corrective” experience she’s had on the road to date.

Grande’s speech on stage came after the star’s representative also revealed to **’s sister publication, PEOPLE, that the actress will no longer participate in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s *Sunday in the Park With George*, which was set to open at London’s Barbican Centre in 2027 and would’ve marked a professional reunion with Grande’s *Wicked* costar, Jonathan Bailey.

She “cannot wait to support the brilliant team bringing this project to life,” a source told PEOPLE on Sunday.

Grande’s decision to step back followed months of public scrutiny about the pop star’s personal life and body, with many expressing concern for Grande’s health amid the rollout of November’s *Wicked: For Good *and her new *Petal* album — particularly following Friday’s release of the music video for the LP’s title track.

Grande has long spoken out against unsolicited remarks about her body, including in a December 2024 interview in which she expressed that she’s felt like a “specimen in a petri dish” since rising to stardom at age 16.

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“I’ve heard every version of what’s wrong with me, and you fix it and then it’s wrong for different reasons,” Grande told the *Oui Oui Baguette** *podcast* *during a joint conversation with fellow *Wicked* star Cynthia Erivo. “ When you’re young and you’re hearing all kinds of things, it’s hard to protect yourself from that noise.”

Watch Grande address her upcoming break in the video above.

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