CULTURE

Post–Pete Davidson Ariana Grande Is Back in the Public Eye, Only to “Say Bye Bye” to the Internet

“It’s very sad and we’re all tryin very hard to keep going,” she posted (and since deleted).


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Complete with glittery green lipstick, on Tuesday night Ariana Grande made her first public appearance since news broke that she and Pete Davidson had broken off their whirlwind engagement and relationship, reportedly because it had been making her feel too rushed. As much as she has appeared to focus on maintaining her privacy since, on Tuesday Grande had a job to do: belting out the song “The Wizard and I,” ahead of NBC’s upcoming televised special in honor of the 15th anniversary of the musical Wicked, just in time for one of her longtime favorite holidays, Halloween.

While Grande has yet to directly address or confirm the breakup, she notably took the stage sans her $93,000 engagement ring, which she’s reportedly returned to Davidson (fortunately, she appears to have maintained custody of the pair’s pet micro pig, Piggy Smallz, whom she’s referred to as a support animal).

Along with two stylized portraits of herself, on Tuesday night Grande also shared a very excited Instagram with Idina Menzel, who famously first played (and won a Tony for) Elphaba in the original Broadway Wicked, and who, in turn, Instagrammed the photo with an equally enthusiastic caption: “You were incredible. I’m such a huge fan.” (Her friend the photographer Alfredo Flores also posted that he was “super proud” of Grande.)

Grande had actually returned to posting earlier in the day, on her Instagram Stories, using a selfie in green lipstick to deliver the message: “Can’t believe I almost let my anxiety ruin this for me today! Not today Satan! Not tomorrow or the next day either not no more u can suck my big green d–k finna sing my heart out and be a big walking vessel of love bye.” She followed up on that post later with photos of her posing with an appropriately green Elphaba Barbie doll, as well as a since-deleted announcement that she planned to take a break from social media. Beginning with saying how “grateful” she was to be a part of a “v. special day,” Grande concluded: “Time to say bye bye again to the internet for just a lil bit. It’s hard not to bump news n stuff that I’m not trying to see rn. It’s very sad and we’re all tryin very hard to keep going. love u. and thank u for bein here always.”

Ariana Grande’s Instagram Story on October 16, 2018.

Courtesy of @arianagrande

The latter announcement doesn’t exactly come as a surprise: Grande disabled her Instagram comments following vitriol blaming her for her previous partner Mac Miller’s recent untimely death, which, along with two breakups, is just one of the hardships Grande has weathered over the past two years, including a terrorist attack during a concert in Manchester that claimed the lives of 23 of her fans.

Davidson, for his part, seems to have also decided to take some time to himself: Shortly after deleting his Instagram, he canceled his headlining appearance a comedy event at Temple University, in Philadelphia, taking place tonight, citing “personal reasons.”

Related: Ariana Grande’s 2018 VMAs Performance of “God Is a Woman” Was a Work of Art

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