Ariana Grande was accused of gaslighting people amidst her controversial relationship with her co-star Ethan Slater. She is now facing a new surge of backlash after she addressed the media’s portrayal of her personal life in a new revealing interview.

The 30-year-old singer appeared on The Zach Sang Show, an online talk show hosted by podcaster Zach Sang on Monday (February 26), and suggested that she had been unfairly targeted by the media.

“The thing is, we know this about the tabloids and about the media. Am I crazy? Don’t we know this?” she began. “We selectively remember that this is what the tabloids do to people, especially women, based on whether or not we like the person.”

When asked whether there was anything she wished people knew about her after the events of last year, the songstress replied, “Plenty.”

Ariana Grande was accused of gaslighting people following a new interview amidst her controversial relationship with Ethan Slater

Image credits: arianagrande

Ariana continued: “[The media leaves space for] their friends and family, but they turn it off when that aligns with the version of a person that they have in their head that they want to believe is true.”

The 7 Rings hitmaker concluded: “We don’t need to go into any specifics, but of course there’s an insatiable frustration, inexplicable hellish feeling, watching people misunderstand the people you love, and you.”

Last year, Ariana found herself in the headlines due to her seemingly problematic romance with her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater.

Their at-the-time rumored romance raised some eyebrows as both the singer and Ethan were married when filming for the upcoming movie began.

Image credits: arianagrande

Moreover, reports that they were dating first surfaced online just three days after Ariana’s separation from her husband, Dalton Gomez, was announced, according to Buzzfeed.

Meanwhile, Ethan didn’t file for a divorce from his wife, Lilly Jay, until six days after he was publicly linked to the pop star. Lilly was Ethan’s high school sweetheart, and the two had just welcomed their first baby together, as per Buzzfeed.

The situation became even more chaotic when Lilly publicly criticized Ariana in a damning interview.

In August 2023, Lilly told the Daily Mail that Ariana was “not a girl’s girl” and that her family was being treated like “collateral damage.”

Last year, Ariana found herself in the headlines due to her seemingly problematic romance with her Wicked co-star Ethan 

Image credits: ethanslater

The disheartened new mom added at the time: “I am focused on rebuilding a life for our son and rebuilding a life for him. This is what I am trying to do, and this is my only focus.”

Despite denials from those close to Ariana and Ethan regarding allegations of an affair, the two-time Grammy winner fueled more adverse reactions with the release of her latest single “Yes, And?” earlier this year, a song from her upcoming album, Eternal Sunshine.

The chart-topping song seemed to refer to the controversy surrounding the singer’s romance with Ethan.

Amongst the most controversial lyrics, one verse states: “Your business is yours and mine is mine. Why do you care so much whose d**k I ride?”

Image credits: michelleyeoh_official

Online music encyclopedia Genius has explained that the lyrics were likely a response to the negative reactions Ariana has received since she was first linked with Ethan last July.

The former Nickelodeon star was met with disappointment for her controversial lyric choices and lost over 350,000 followers on Instagram right after the release of the song.

Ariana’s latest comments on The Zach Sang Show have renewed backlash, with social media users accusing the prominent vocalist of “gaslighting” them.

Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which a person seeks to make another person doubt their own perceptions, memories, or sanity.

“This is what the tabloids do to people, especially women, based on whether or not we like the person,” Ariana said

Image credits: Zach Sang Show

“Yeah, no Ariana that is not what’s happening here stop trying to gaslight everyone,” a person commented on a clip of the interview shared on TikTok.

Another TikTok user wrote: “Her blaming the tabloids for reporting what she did rather than taking accountability is crazy.”

An additional commentator penned: “Obviously not everything said in the media is true, but girl we can see the timelines it’s available to the public.”

A separate individual chimed in: “The gaslighting is insane.”

Image credits: Zach Sang Show

Others pointed out that Ethan’s ex, Lilly, had herself addressed the situation, as a person commented: “Did she forget that the wife came out and told the public…?”

Someone else added: “She’s accusing the general public of media illiteracy when the ex-wife literally came out & made it very clear what happened.”

The Zach Sang Show’s interview with Ariana came out just one day before the singer released the full tracklist for Eternal Sunshine. One song title, The Boy Is Mine, particularly caught the fans’ attention.

Although the song’s lyrics remain undisclosed, considering the cheating scandal in which the Victorious alum and Ethan have found themselves for the past year, people swiftly began speculating.

You can watch Ariana’s interview on The Zach Sang Show below:

“‘The boy is mine’ that’s craazy girl if you are going to be a homewrecker don’t be so proud about it with,” a person wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Another X user penned: “Love my girl DOWN but she’s never beating the homewrecker allegations with some of these titles wym (why do you mean) the boy is mine?!?”

In her interview with Zach, Ariana shared that her new album “says everything and nothing at the same time” about the situation.

“It’s very vague and very specific, all at once,” she continued. “It was definitely the most emotional writing process, for sure.”

Ariana continued: “When I was writing, it was with no intention for the world to hear it. When I was done, I remembered that people will hear it, and how people can sometimes sensationalize things and assign meaning to certain things. I combed through just to make sure that it was what I intended. I had some sessions where I was definitely writing more emotionally and more reactively.”

Eternal Sunshine is planned to be released on March 8, and Ariana has reportedly teased that “pieces of it” will “touch on” the speculation surrounding her love life.

“We’re not stupid,” a reader commented

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