The saga of viewers being “weirded out” by Ariana Grande’s physical transformation continues with her latest Golden Globes appearance creating a fresh wave of backlash.
The images, shared earlier today (January 15), show Grande stepping out of her vehicle in a pale pink dress while holding a small matching handbag. Many viewers said they were struggling to reconcile her current appearance with the pop star they once followed.
Highlights
- Viewers were put off by new photos of Ariana Grande arriving at the Golden Globes looking allegedly thinner.
- Much of the backlash focused on what critics believe is Grande’s deliberately cultivated image of fragility.
- Longstanding concerns resurfaced about the influence she may have on younger fans.
Beyond the usual comments about her thinness, fans are saying she now looks outright ill and withered. Critics believe Grande’s transformation began when joined the cast of Disney’s Wicked in November 2021.
“Can’t believe this is the same woman,” one commenter wrote after comparing the photos with those of Grande from around 2018.
Fans believe Ariana Grande’s transformation has reached a new extreme after photos from the Golden Globes spread
Image credits: Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Much of the immediate reaction focused on Grande’s posture and overall presentation as she arrived at the event.
“Her stance is killing me. She genuinely looks like a grandma,” one viewer commented.
Another compared her appearance to something artificial and unsettling. “She looks like a wax figure you see at history museums,” they wrote.
Image credits: arianagrande/Instagram
As the discussion grew, some users argued that the look was not accidental, but rather carefully curated. According to this group, Grande appears to be leaning into an exaggerated image of fragility for PR purposes.
“It’s all for sympathy and attention. She’s also putting makeup on that makes her look sickly and paler,” one commenter claimed.
“She wants to look like a delicate tiny baby flower. She’s obsessing over the attention she’s getting over her being too thin, too pale, sickly, bald etc. She’s feeding off it.”
Image credits: JOKER/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images
Others simply made fun of the situation.
“She is like a human version of a chihuahua,” a user wrote. “This is the most accurate thing I’ve ever read about her,” another replied.
Beyond appearance alone, critics once again raised concerns about the message they believe Grande is sending to her audience
Image credits: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
“At this point, she or her team have to know about this,” one commenter wrote. “At this point it has to be either a humiliation kink or a ‘look like I haven’t eaten in weeks but I’m famous so I’m invincible’ kink, something. This is just nuts.”
The same user continued. “Young women every day look up to her and want to be like her, and here she is setting an example of starving yourself and being proud of it.
Why is the world so backwards right now?”
Image credits: Rich Polk/Getty Images
These concerns echo a broader criticism that has followed Grande for years, with some accusing her of normalizing eating disorders within a fanbase that now skews younger than during her early career thanks to her Disney influence.
The images also reignited a parallel debate over cosmetic procedures. Late last year, a set of before-and-after photos went viral after a fan questioned whether Grande’s altered eye shape could truly be explained by makeup alone.
“What’s going on with the makeup style that’s changing her eye shape so drastically?” the user asked, comparing a 2024 photo to one taken before Wicked. “She looks like two different people here.”
“It’s not makeup, it’s plastic surgery,” a commenter replied.
Image credits: Either-Software-4195/Reddit
When the original poster asked if the most dramatic change was around her eyelids, the response was blunt. “Yes darling, it’s called a blepharoplasty.”
“She chopped off a huge part of her eyelid surgically plus her facelift pulling everything back gave her scary looking eyes,” the commenter added. “It doesn’t help that she does her makeup so badly and accentuates the eyes drastically.”
Grande has not been the only Wicked cast member to be scrutinized for drastically losing weight
Image credits: hollywoodreporter/Instagram
In November, a before-and-after comparison showing Grande now alongside a photo of her at age 12 in 2008 amassed more than 11 million views on X.
The earlier image showed fuller cheeks, thicker brows, and soft, unaltered eyelids. The more recent photo revealed hollowed cheeks, a sharply defined jawline, lifted outer eye corners, higher brows, a smoother forehead, and fuller lips.
“That’s called tons of surgery. It’s sad, actually,” one viewer wrote at the time.
“The immense strain this woman is putting on her body cannot be sustained indefinitely,” another warned.
Image credits: Recording Academy/GRAMMYs / arianagrande/Instagram
Grande has not been the only Wicked cast member to face scrutiny. Before-and-after images of Grande alongside Cynthia Erivo and Michelle Yeoh also went viral, drawing millions of views.
“It’s a global pandemic,” one user wrote, suggesting a wider Hollywood issue.
Image credits: arianagrande/Instagram
Erivo later acknowledged that the production was physically demanding.
“We’d worked ourselves to the bone,” she told The New York Times. Grande added that while they only got sick once each, both illnesses occurred before some of the most demanding parts of the film.
Despite those claims, fans remained unconvinced. “Y’all talking about ‘Wicked healed her,’ looks like it sucked the life outta her,” one commenter said.
"Bizarre." The discussion about Grande's looks shows no signs of slowing down
