Ariana Grande recently discussed the impact of sexist backlash and media coverage on her self-image and career.- The pop star told Apple
Music 's Beats 1 host Zane Lowe that being called a "diva" made her want to step away from interviews and stop expressing herself. - "It's like, when men express their opinions, or defend themselves, or are directing something and making notes on something, they're brilliant, and they're geniuses," Grande explained. "And yet, it's just so not the same thing with women, which I hope we can work on fixing."
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Ariana Grande covered a lot of ground during her Wednesday appearance on Apple Music's Beats 1 show, gushing about everyone from Mac Miller to Rihanna and all her favorite artists in between.
But one of the interview's most heartfelt moments came when Grande discussed the impact of sexist backlash and media coverage on her self-image and career.
"The word diva gets thrown around once someone is successful, [with] all the wrong connotations," host Zane Lowe told her. "What it really is, is it's an insult to strong female energy."
"Yeah, and like, I hope so! I truly hope they are," Grande said of
"It's funny you bring that up," she continued. "I stopped doing interviews for a really long time because I felt like, whenever I would get into a position where somebody would try to say something for clickbait or twist my words or blah, blah, blah, I would defend myself. And then, people would be like, 'Oh, she's a diva.'"
"And I was like, 'This doesn't make any sense.' Because I have an opinion about something that has been completely [misunderstood], because I have an opinion artistically, or if I am directing something, or if I have something to say regarding a choice that's being made with my career or something, blah, blah, blah — it always was, in the past, kind of manipulated and turned into this negative thing, whereas I don't see that with men."
"It's like, when men express their opinions, or defend themselves, or are directing something and making notes on something, they're brilliant, and they're geniuses," Grande explained. "And yet, it's just so not the same thing with women, which I hope we can work on fixing. And of course, that's not always the case. It's not always that way. But it does make it kind of — it makes you want to quiet down a little bit. But I'm trying to also say, 'f--- that.' You know what I mean? I'm tired of seeing women silenced by it."
"It really sits with you. You feel like, 'Oh wow. Should I not express myself anymore? Should I not have this fight that I wanna have anymore? Or should I just say 'OK' and let it be? It kind of f---s you up a little bit."
Grande clarified that she doesn't feel that way all the time, though she feels the double standard is "definitely still prominent."
"But I'm trying to just say 'f--- it' and let go of that trauma," she said, "because I do have a lot to say and I do enjoy talking to people and I do wanna do interviews and share with people and not be afraid to be myself."
"When you stepped away, though, you let your work do that fighting, which was really powerful," Lowe added, to which Grande replied, "I tried!"
Lowe went on to praise "Thank U, Next," Grande's most recent album: "It was like, 'OK, I can sit here and have 15, 20 conversations with people and try to navigate these murky, shark-ridden waters and see if I can get something positive about it — or I can let this work resonate, sit, and hold the tone.' And it did."
"That's gonna make me cry," Grande said, getting audibly choked up. "Thank you, I appreciate that. Ugh, ick. Yuck. Sorry. I appreciate that a lot."
Grande wrote and recorded her No. 1 album "Thank U, Next" in a feverish state after the death of her ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller, in September 2018. She previously told Vogue that she barely remembers it because she was "so drunk" and "so sad."
"Thank U, Next" was subsequently nominated for album of the year at the 2020 Grammy Awards, but lost to Billie Eilish's debut.
Watch highlights from Grande's interview with Lowe below. They begin talking about "divas" at the 2:50 mark.
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