Pop star Ariana Grande reacted to allegations this week that she was exploiting the LGBT community by charging high ticket prices for her performance at Pride in Manchester, England, later this year.
“manchester babes, i’m so thrilled to be headlining pride. my heart. i cant wait to see u and i love u so so much,” Ariana Grande said in a social media post.
Another social media user claimed that Grande was exploiting LGBT people.
“idk …. ariana headlining pride when she’s straight (as far as we’re all aware) …. and doubling the price of tickets …. kinda smells like exploitation of the lgbt community to me …..” the user said.
The singer responded, saying in a note that she wanted to “celebrate and support” LGBTQ people, adding, “I do think there’s room for us to talk about these issues without equating a performance *for* an LGBTQ audience with exploitation of the LGBTQ community.”
Grande has a strange relationship with social justice causes. She often signals her support for such causes, but has repeatedly faced criticism for appropriating or exploiting racial minorities or LGBT people for her own fame.
In December, the star was accused of using blackface due to her consistently darkening skin tone (Grande is white), and in January, she was again widely accused of appropriating black culture in her song “7 Rings.”
The “thank u, next” singer was also accused of appropriating Japanese culture when she mistakenly got a tattoo on her hand that was supposed to read “7 Rings” in Japanese, but instead reads “Japanese BBQ finger.”
While not wading into these types of controversies, the 25-year-old can be seen sending messages to Barack Obama about how much she misses him.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.