Copyright BuzzFeed
Ariana Grande Begged Her Own Fans Not To “Wish Danger” On Her, And People Are Rightfully Calling Out How Messed Up It Is In an emotional video message played at the São Paulo premiere, fans said Ariana looked to be “holding back tears.” After a travel complication meant she was absent from the Wicked: For Good world premiere in Brazil last night, Ariana Grande has asked fans not to “wish danger” on her — and it really shouldn’t have to be like this. In case you missed it, Ari shared via Instagram on Nov. 3 that the commercial plane on which she was supposed to be flying to São Paulo had a "safety issue," meaning that she, her team, and all the other passengers on board had to deplane. The flight was eventually delayed until 11 a.m. the following morning, which would’ve made it impossible for her to attend the premiere on time. “my team and Universal have tried every single thing possible to fix this, we’ve searched every other flight, overnight, early morning, connecting flights, commercial and also private options and absolutely nothing was available or possible that would get us there in time,” she wrote. “even in attempting a private option, there is a permit necessary in order to fly from here that takes time to attain.” Ari apologized profusely and emphasized that she and her team had tried “everything [they] could” to get her there on time. And while most fans have been understanding of the situation, a group of Ariana’s supporters have unfortunately expressed their disappointment by directing abuse at her online. So-called fans have accused her of being purposefully disrespectful to her Brazilian supporters, and some have even posted videos of themselves throwing their Ariana albums in the trash. The hatred was so vitriolic that, before long, Ari was compelled to issue a follow-up statement, pleading with fans not to “wish danger” on her and her team. “there was no other time for me to leave and these plans have been booked for months,” she wrote. “i wrapped another film on the 31st and i worked all day the 1st and the 2nd as well, just the same as Jonny [Bailey], [Cynthia Erivo] and Jon [M. Chu] have been working. we all were scheduled to leave the same day. it just so happened that this plane had a safety problem and i have explained why finding another option was impossible..." Later that evening, clips surfaced online of a video message from Ari that was played for fans at the São Paulo premiere. In the two-minute video — in which we see Ariana’s new brown hair for the first time since she unveiled it on IG last week — she explains, for a third time, why it was impossible for her to be there, and vowed to make it up to her Brazilian fans. She sounded quite emotional in the footage, and people have said she looked to be “holding back tears.” The whole situation has sparked a lot of conversation online, with the overwhelming majority of fans feeling deeply disappointed by the way Ariana was forced to call out her own fans’ “vicious” behavior. “How absolutely wild it must be to have fans like that. To plead with them to not threaten her/her coworkers and then also have to give them lots of love. If it was a person, we’d be like ‘Dump them, that’s abusive!’” one user wrote on a Reddit thread. “And you know the people that were sending hate won’t feel shamed by this, they’ll just feel important by her acknowledgement and how much she said she loved them.” Notably, Ariana has talked in the past about how her fans “can hurt [her] feelings.” “Sometimes I don’t like them, but I love them always, does that make sense?” she said during a Vanity Fair video in 2024. “It’s a hard relationship that’s sort of like, weirdly parasocial, but it feels very real to me. So, sometimes it’s hard, but I love them very much.” The São Paulo screening was the first in a string of Wicked: For Good premieres around the globe this month. Ari and her co-stars are set to premiere the film in Paris on Nov. 7. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on this in the comments.
