In the "Thank U, Next" music video, Ariana Grande deliberately accepts and embraces both self-reflection and humour, by showing herself as someone who has learned from her past relationships and experiences. The video’s purpose it to show a level of self- growth, with Ariana “thanking” her exes and learning to move on. There are also clever, nostalgic visual references to iconic teen movies such as Mean Girls and Legally Blonde which suggests that Grande is comfortable with her own image in the media and isn’t scared to be authentic. Through this project, Ariana represents herself as both an artist and a self-aware person who is not afraid to reflect on the ups and downs of life in a light-hearted way.
The lyric “I thought I'd end up with Sean, but he wasn't a match / Wrote some songs about Ricky, now I listen and laugh."
Suggests that Ariana is acknowledging her past relationships (with Big Sean and Ricky Alvarez) in a playful but also an authentic way. Instead of stating these relationships as failures, she’s thanking them for the lessons they taught her. This approach shows a sense of maturity and her new and changed mindset toward past experiences, rather than clinging to heartbreak or regret.
In her 2016 SNL monologue, Ariana speaks out about her past scandals by joking about them with the audience - emphasising how she wants a “real” scandal and wants to be seen as “grown-up” within the media. She begins her monologue by saying “A lot of kid stars end up doing drugs or in jail or pregnant or get caught licking a donut they didn’t pay for” this highlights her to control her own narrative, instead of letting news articles or papers speak for her or represent her in a way which may be false or untrue. Ariana’s ability to acknowledge her actions in a candid yet light-hearted manner reflects her growing maturity and self-awareness as she leans into more serious, adult roles and breaking the public’s perception of her as a former child star, she uses SNL’s platform to showcase her vulnerability and to make her scandal into an opportunity to connect with her audience. However, criticism from the monologue said she “casually dismissed incidents like the donut-licking scandal” and how she deflected responsibility rather than owning her mistakes, this shows that even if Ariana attempts to control her media presence it will still be used and criticised by the papers or public.
This article shows how the media is able to take small or minor incidents and exemplify them to reshape a celebrity’s public image. In the scandal, security footage captured Ariana Grande licking a doughnut on display in a store and then making comments about hating America. The video followed backlash with media articles portraying her actions as disrespectful and entitled. The Hollywood Reporter’s critique was an example of how the media focused on her behaviour as inappropriate, despite her issuing several apologies which showed how her attempts to explain herself and her side of the story were overshadowed by the “scandalous” aspect of it. The footage being leaked and the news articles of the incident show how quickly a celebrity image can be defined by external forces rather than their own words or intentions.
The preferred reading positioned her actions as inappropriate where the incident became a cultural talking point as people were frustrated particularly with her comments about America which some may have perceived as unpatriotic. However, not all audience members would have accepted this preferred reading especially fans or supporters who instead would of opted for an oppositional reading by downplaying the disrespectful actions of the incident.
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