Ariana Grande will pull back from public-facing work once she completes her Eternal Sunshine Tour, her representative said in a statement Sunday, citing what the statement called “endless, ongoing public scrutiny.” The tour wraps September 1 following a ten-show residency in London.
“She 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,” the representative said, adding that the experience “has been a beautiful experience for her” and that she loves her fans.
Grande has also exited the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George,” where she was set to star opposite Jonathan Bailey. Empire Street Productions confirmed her departure, saying the decision “cannot have been an easy” one and that the show retains “complete understanding and support” for her choice. The production will proceed at the Barbican in summer 2027, with casting to be announced later. A source close to Grande said she remains disappointed to leave the project but supportive of its creative team.
The announcement follows several years in which commentary about Grande’s physical appearance intensified alongside her promotional work for “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good,” the films that earned her a best supporting actress Oscar nomination. She has addressed the scrutiny publicly on multiple occasions, at one point comparing the experience of being watched since her teenage years to being “a specimen in a petri dish.” A source close to the singer told People that she performs her physically demanding show “healthily and successfully at a very high level night after night.”
Grande’s representative did not specify what prompted the timing of the decision. Her break comes as she prepares for another high-profile project: “Focker-in-Law,” a Universal comedy co-starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, scheduled to open the day before Thanksgiving. That release will likely require its own promotional campaign, and Universal has not said whether Grande’s planned break will affect her participation in it.
