Yes, Ariana Grande broke down crying right onstage in Los Angeles during her Eternal Sunshine tour, and yes, her breakup with Ethan Slater — her boyfriend of three years and Wicked co-star — was a real blow. A source close to the family confirms it: the relationship was a “whiplash” that no one dared end even though everyone could see it was no longer working. But that, says the same source, is nowhere near the worst thing she is going through. 😔
The real breaking point came in 2024, when the documentary The Quiet on Set premiered, exposing the alleged abuse that took place behind the scenes in Nickelodeon’s children’s programming. Ariana, who was 16 when she landed the role of Cat Valentine on Victorious, did not want to watch it. But the documentary became so massive that it ended up forcing her to confront something she had avoided for years: understanding what those videos were really for. In one she squeezed a potato while moaning. In another, water fell on her chest. In yet another, she put her fingers down her throat. All of them produced by the network while she was a teenager. 😶
Ariana Grande wipes away tears during Eternal Sunshine Tour stop in Los Angeles, overcome by the love and energy from her fans inside https://t.co/aF2yiyTHol Arena. “Holy shit,” she says on her first tour since 2019. “This is overwhelming.” pic.twitter.com/FJA7ILGGtD
— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) June 15, 2026
“Seeing herself at 16 trying to milk a potato on a bed, that leaves you traumatized when you watch it again as an adult and think: ‘Oh, that was meant to turn old men on'”, the source said. “Knowing how she had been used as a teenager, without even realizing the extent of it, that affected her deeply”. Today Ariana goes to therapy, meditates and, according to those around her, works very hard to be okay. 🌸