Ariana Grande says being called a “diva” is one of the reasons why she hasn’t done an interview in a long time.
In a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music’s Beats 1 show, Ari revealed that double standards and the backlash she received when trying to express her opinions have impacted her self-image and even career moves.
“The word diva gets thrown around once someone is successful, [with] all the wrong connotations,” host Zane 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,” Ari responded. “That means they’ve got an opinion and a drive and artistic integrity. They’ve got something to say, it means.”
“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,” she 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–k 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–ks you up a little bit.”
Ari says she doesn’t feel that way all the time though, but she does feel that the double standard is “definitely still prominent.”
“But I’m trying to just say ‘f–k 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.”
Zane pointed out that Ari stepping back from the limelight and letting her music do the talking was “powerful,” to which Ari replied, “I tried.”
Ari recently teamed up with her long-time friend, Justin Bieber, to release a new single “Stuck With U.” The duet aims to raise funds the children of first responders – including health care workers, EMTs, paramedics, police officers and firefighters on the front lines – who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Net proceeds will go toward funding grants and scholarships through a partnership with First Responders Children’s Foundation and their manager, Scooter Braun’s, SB Projects.
But other than that, there seems to be no plans on releasing a new album amid the coronavirus quarantine.
Ari revealed she’s been keeping busy at home working on new music, but shared that she’s not focused on making an album at the moment.
“I’ve been making stuff. I’ve been making a lot of stuff, but that’s not where my head is at right now,” she said.
“I didn’t have a home set up until quite recently and that’s been so much fun, but also so bad for my sleep schedule and my eating schedule. I have to remember that there is life outside of making stuff and I have to leave the computer at some point,” she said. “I think as far as creating goes, it feels really good. But I know that a lot of people don’t have that luxury and a lot of people [have] jobs they can’t do it from home, so I feel guilty and blessed.”
“I don’t really feel comfortable putting anything out right now,” Ari continued. “It’s a really tricky time for all of that.”
