Ariana Grande acknowledged her decision to step back from the public eye onstage in Chicago Monday night, telling fans her choice, which her representatives previously credited to "endless, ongoing public scrutiny," was not "reactive or impulsive" and that "boundaries" need to be set.
Ariana Grande is set to perform three shows in Chicago this week. (Photo by JC Olivera/WWD via Getty Images)
Grande made a brief speech during her Chicago concert, her first appearance since she announced over the weekend she would take a break once her tour wraps up, acknowledging the public reaction to her announcement was "a little blown out of proportion."
Grande said she "quietly" made a plan to take a break "a long time ago," adding she heard her fans were "worried that negativity was ruining things for me," a possible reference to a reignited internet debate over Grande's health and appearance.
The singer said no matter "what noises exist out there, nothing will ever be able to distort my reality or be more real to me or elaborate to me" than her relationship to her fans.

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