Ariana Grande appeared to limp through several songs during her London shows at The O2, prompting concern among fans. The 33-year-old pop star was seen struggling during her set on the eighth night of her ten-night residency on Friday, August 28.
The residency forms part of The Eternal Sunshine Tour, which has seen Grande perform across America and Europe. One fan claimed to have captured the moment the injury occurred, showing Grande rolling her right ankle while performing Into You from her Dangerous Woman album. Other clips from the same fan showed her visibly limping through additional performances, including Break Free.
Fan reactions and support
The fan who captured the footage said: "Ariana rolled her ankle and was seen limping through most of the show last night. I hope she's feeling better and recovering! Good thing she has some rest before the next show."
Another fan commented: "When I saw those high heels I was worried that she might roll her ankle due to how high. Anyways I hope it's nothing serious and she recovers soon." A second added: "It must be so painful in those heals." A third said: "Next Week needs to come fast for my baby to rest."
Planned break from public life
Grande recently announced she would be stepping back from the spotlight following "endless, ongoing public scrutiny." She has also pulled out of the forthcoming theatre production of Stephen Sondheim's Sunday In The Park With George.
During a show in Chicago, Grande paused the performance to "clear the air about a few things." She said: "Sometimes when a story comes out that's not directly from me, things can get a little blown out of proportion, so I wanted to speak to my fans directly tonight because I love you so much. So basically, the announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing. It is something that I had decided, it's a plan that I had quietly made a long time ago, and it's a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place."
She continued: "And I want you to know that many, many things can be true at the same time. I wanna share this because I heard that, I heard that my fans were worried that negativity was ruining things for me. But I just have to say that could not be more than the opposite. I promise you, this is not what that is. And I just want to be very, very clear. Nothing can ruin... Multiple things can be true at the same time. Bound- Boundaries can need to be set. Human beings can need a break sometimes."
Grande added: "And also, this can be, and will continue to be, the greatest experience of my professional and creative life, and nothing is getting in the way of that, or will get in the way of that. So, I just wanted to make that quite plain." She went on to say that despite "what noises exist," nothing would be able to "distort" the reality or "be real to me or louder to me than this love that we share, or even how it feels to make art with the people that I love and respect."
She concluded: "This is what I will always take with me and carry with me, because the rest of that shit is not mine to carry, so I don't carry it. And I wanted you to hear that from me." Before resuming her performance, she expressed that she "needed" to "differentiate that from my truth for all of you," adding: "I love you and this tour has been the most healing, beautiful, corrective, magnificent, special experience of my life."
