Every now and again a celebrity will post an open letter online and the internet will explode, either ridiculing them or heaping praise on them. Well the latter has just happened for Ariana Grande who wrote about how she was tired of not discussing her work and instead being asked about her relationships and also being referred to as someone's ex.
I don't usually jump on the bandwagon of reading the musings of celebrities...often because I feel like it is a publicity stunt and they aren't even responsible for half the words that they've supposedly written. Anyway, I decided to check out Grande's letter and whilst I wouldn't disagree with what she is saying in parts, I also find it very naive and even unappreciative of the situation she is in.
Asking her about her relationships is probably one of the only honest conversations you could have with a manufactured pop star. She says she'd rather discuss her music that she's creating, but once quizzed about it she'll just reel out the usual lies that singers give who don't write their own music. I doubt she is going to mention the minimum of 4 writers and producers who were responsible for writing her successful tracks. I hate it when you get the likes of Rita Ora acting all heartfelt when describing what their song is about - other than recording it once they've had no other creative input! In the case of Rita Ora that's why she had no music after breaking up with Calvin Harris...he had written her whole album and just as easily took it away.
I'm not denying that Grande is very talented and has a great voice, but the nature of the industry she is in means that people are always going to ask these types of questions. Of course you'll get tired of them but just don't do interviews with crappy entertainment sites then! I'm not condoning the industry, but who doesn't know that it is a shallow and fickle one? I'm sure anyone would give everything to have as much money as you have and put up with these boring and generic questions.
For every successful female celebrity who doesn't want to be referred to as someone's ex, there is an aspiring celebrity who is riding off the back of their current partner or ex's name...Suki Waterhouse and Bradley Cooper? I'd personally like it Grande's way and have absolutely no one mention their partners and see how successful they become from that!
Any educated and smart woman should know you don't need a man by your side to be successful...but you also don't 'not' need a man by your side. I didn't like that the letter implied men were at fault in a way. There are young girls out there who go through a similar thing, jumping from one boyfriend to another because they don't want to be single (even though they've never experienced being single properly) and granted, they need to learn that's not necessary for happiness. The real issue is with the entertainment industry and maybe America as a whole.
The letter felt like it was popping in and out of topics. We've long put up with the notion of men being better for sleeping around whilst women are always on the receiving end of the names like "hoe" if they are perceived to do the same thing. This is only magnified in the entertainment industry, but perhaps Grande should've asked for people to realise that the majority of what is posted on these sites is fake. Any time a "close friend" says something to a magazine or website it is usually made up...would you go and tell your best friend's experiences to a magazine? No, it's all made up!
Finally, the funniest part of the article is that I'm not sure Grande has ever really been referred to as someone's ex to her face...she's massively successful and I felt she was rather carrying this other guy who no one has heard of in the UK. I'm sure he's dealing with the same thing of being referred to as Ariana Grande's ex and it's probably helping him out considerably. The entertainment industry is always going to jump on these things and portray relationships and no one is expecting that to change any time soon.
Personally I am most interested in seeing when she gets a new boyfriend. These scenarios always happen where someone bangs on about being so happy that they're single...the happiest in their whole life and they usually have a new man on their arm a couple of weeks later. It'll be interesting to see if she preaches the perks of being single only to get a new man immediately after...but hey, that's showbiz!
