// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Ariana Grande has had enough of body comments, but 'scrutiny' will linger
Grande has cancelled appearances including a starring role in a stage musical in London next year
Three years ago, Ariana Grande made a plea for people not to comment about her body.
Responding in a TikTok video to comments about her weight and figure, the pop star and actress told fans there were "many different ways to look healthy and beautiful".
Three years on, and the social media speculation about her body and her health has continued. After "endless, ongoing public scrutiny", the star's spokesperson released a statement saying she "will be taking a step back from visibility" at the end of her current tour.
"She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily," the statement stressed, "and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny."
Grande released the video for her new single Petal on Friday
It follows the release of her eighth studio album Petal and the graphic video for its title track on Friday.
The song refers to the pressures of fame, and the video shows Grande as a starlet who tries out for a group of talent scouts, dressing as a variety of different pop star personas. None are deemed good enough.
The men initially inform her that it "couldn't hurt" to lose some weight, among other things, before they tell the final persona that they miss "the way you used to be".
"I wrote [this album] from a place that I don't usually, which was like an unfiltered rage," she has said.