Concerns surrounding Ariana Grande’s physical transformation reached a new high this month, after a fresh set of before-and-after images spread across social media.
The latest wave began when a concerned fan tried to make sense of the changes Grande has undergone in recent years and asked others whether her drastically altered eye shape was simply the result of makeup.
Highlights
- Fans believe Ariana Grande’s eye shape changes cannot be explained by makeup alone.
- Viewers theorized that procedures like blepharoplasty, fox eye lifts, and extreme weight loss could be behind the differences.
- Comparisons expand to Cynthia Erivo and Michelle Yeoh, with fans blaming Wicked’s production.
Interestingly, the user compared a 2024 photo of the actress to one taken before Wicked, noting that the two versions of Grande looked “like completely different people.”
However, for many fans, the answer was a simple one: plastic surgery, and lots of it.
Ariana Grande’s fans are blaming Wicked for the actress’ alleged plastic surgery transformation
Image credits: katiatemkin
The discussion began when a fan asked, “What’s going on with the makeup style that’s changing her eye shape so drastically?” The user compared a 2024 photo of Ariana Grande to a 2019 one, before adding, “She looks like two different people here.”
“It’s not makeup, it’s plastic surgery,” a commenter replied.
Image credits: arianagrande
“Like on her eyelids? That’s where I see the most change. Her whole eye situation,” the original poster replied.
“Yes darling, it's called a blepharoplasty,” the commenter added.
“She chopped off a huge part of her eyelid surgically plus her facelift pulling everything back gave her scary looking eyes. It doesn't help that she does her makeup so badly and accentuates the eyes drastically.”
Image credits: katiatemkin
A blepharoplasty is a procedure commonly performed on older patients, particularly those whose skin has started impeding their vision. It removes excess skin or fat from the eyelids, allowing these patients to open their eyes without issues.
Others believe a different, more controversial and strictly aesthetic procedure was involved.
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
“I’m convinced she’s had the fox eye lift,” a fan said.
The fox eye lift relies on threads or surgical adjustments near the temples to pull the outer corners of the eyes upward. The result is a permanently raised cat-eye appearance that has become popular among influencers and celebrities alike in recent years.
Image credits: JebraFaushay
For many observers, the concerns are amplified by her dramatic weight loss, which has made the alleged surgeries appear even more pronounced.
Fans have long theorized that the singer’s current appearance is the result of multiple procedures, including an eye lift and buccal fat removal
Image credits: bratatiichanda
This is far from the first time a before-and-after comparison centered around Ariana Grande has gone viral. For instance, last Thursday (November 20), an even more stark juxtaposition gained more than 11 million views on X.
The photo showed Grande’s current self versus a photo of her as a 12-year-old in 2008.
Image credits: Getty/Kevin Mazur
In the first photo, Grande has fuller cheeks, a naturally rounded face shape, thicker brows, and soft, unaltered eyelids.
In the second image, her face looks significantly more angular. The cheeks appear hollowed, and the jawline looks much sharper, creating a V-shaped silhouette that wasn’t present before.
Image credits: Getty/Jim Spellman/Gilbert Flores
The eyes have a noticeably pulled-back appearance, with the outer corners lifted and the upper eyelids showing far more surface area, creating the impression of a surgical or heavily altered contour.
The brows also sit higher and straighter, and the forehead appears smoother and more tightly pulled. The nose looks narrower and the lips fuller.
Image credits: arianagrande
For many fans, the changes go beyond what would be expected simply from her maturing.
“That’s called tons of surgery… It’s sad, actually,” a viewer wrote.
“The immense strain this woman is putting on her body cannot be sustained indefinitely,” another added.
Grande’s co-stars, Cynthia Erivo and Michelle Yeoh, also drew attention for the noticeable changes in their appearance
Image credits: arianagrande
Just days before the Ariana comparison took over X, fans were already discussing the altered appearances of the Wicked: For Good cast.
A post showing Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Michelle Yeoh, before and after participating in the Disney production, went viral with over 12 million views.
“It’s a global pandemic,” a user argued, expressing concern over what they believe is a trend among the Hollywood elite.
According to Erivo, filming the movies has taken a toll on their bodies.
“We’d worked ourselves to the bone,” Erivo said during an interview with The New York Times.
Grande added, “We only got sick once each, but both were before some of the most important works of the whole movie.”
At the same time, many fans started doubting claims made by the actresses during promotional tours in which they described participating in the production as a nurturing experience.
“Y’all talking about ‘Wicked healed her,’ looks like it sucked the life outta her,” one of Grande’s fans said.
Image credits: arianagrande
In the same vein, last week, the singer made waves by hinting at an indefinite hiatus in her music career, saying that her upcoming run of shows would be her last “for a long, long, long time.”
"The Wizard of OZ*mpic." Fans expressed their concern on social media
