'I wanted to address your concerns about my body.' Ariana Grande's 3-minute message to fans.

Ariana Grande posts a lot on social media, and every time she does, the comments flood in.

But no matter the topic or the project she's sharing, one type of message floats to the top: the ones about her body.

About how it looks, whether she is healthy, the way in which it has changed. 

Most are presented as coming from a place of love and concern, or speculate about things she could be going through.

And as much as we say 'don't read the comments', or fall back on the belief that most celebrities aren't in control of their own socials, Grande has seen it all.

And she would like it to stop.

In a three-minute TikTok video, Grande addressed the scrutiny and asked fans to be mindful of the way they speak about other people's bodies.

"I just wanted to address your concerns about my body and talk a little bit about what it means to be a person with a body and to be seen and to be paid such close attention to," she began.

"I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people's bodies. No matter what, if you think you're saying something good or well intentioned, whatever it is; healthy, unhealthy, big, small, this that, sexy, not sexy... we just shouldn't, we should really work towards not doing that as much. 

"There are ways to compliment someone or to ignore something that you see that you don't like, that I think we should help each other work towards. Just to aim towards being safer, and keeping each other safer."

@arianagrande

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♬ original sound - arianagrande

Then she directly spoke to concerns people have expressed about her, comparing her current body to her past self.

"I know personally, for me, the body that you've been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body," she said.

"I was on a lot of antidepressants and drinking on them and eating poorly, and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider [to be] 'my healthy', but that in fact wasn't 'my healthy.'"

She said she knows she shouldn't have to explain herself, but hoped "having an openness and some sort of vulnerability here" would do some good.

"Healthy can look different. The second thing is you never know what someone is going through. 

"So even if you are coming from a loving place and a caring place, that person probably is working on it or has a support system that they are working on it with and you never know. So be gentle with each other and with yourselves."

With that all said, she realised that people would probably have something to say about the way she looked in this video too.

"By the way, I'm not wearing eyelashes or eyeliner right now. This is my face. These are my eyes. So don't freak out about that now too please, oh my god."

She ended her video by sending love to those watching.

"Sending you guys a lot of love. And I think you're beautiful. No matter what you're going through. No matter what weight. No matter how you like to do your makeup these days, no matter what cosmetic procedures you've had or not or anything. 

"Yeah, I just think you're beautiful and wanted to share some feelings. Have a very beautiful day. And I'm sending you a lot of love."

Grande has spoken about her own mental health a number of times. 

In 2018, she shared she was diagnosed with PTSD after the 2017 bombing at her Manchester concert, that killed 22 people.

In 2021, she commemorated Mental Health Awareness Month with a social media post stating "healing isn’t linear, fun, quick or at all easy".

Feature image: Ariana Grande/TikTok.