Ariana Grande’s new song addressing rumored controversies about her relationship with Ethan Slater has stirred mixed reactions and criticism, resulting in a significant loss of Instagram followers for the singer.
Ariana released her first solo song last year after a three-year hiatus. “Yes, and?” immediately topped the Global Spotify Chart with over 11 million streams on the day of its release, but it also amassed a significant amount of backlash.
The chart-topping song apparently refers to the controversy surrounding the singer’s romance with her Wicked costar, Ethan Slater.
Ariana Grande’s new song stirred mixed reactions and criticism, resulting in a significant loss of Instagram followers for the singer
Amongst the most controversial lyrics, one verse states: “Your business is yours and mine is mine.
“Why do you care so much whose d**k I ride?”
Online music encyclopedia, Genius, has explained that the lyrics were likely a response to the negative reactions Ariana has received since she was first linked with Ethan last July.
While Ariana and Ethan were first rumored to be dating, the 30-year-old singer had just split with her now ex-husband, Dalton Gomez, while Ethan had also recently separated from his wife, Lilly Jay, who had just given birth to their first child.
In a March 2023 piece by the Daily Mail, an anonymous source mentioned that Ariana and Ethan were “all over each other” at Michelle Yeoh’s Oscars Party.
In July of the same year, People confirmed the castmates had begun a relationship, at which point, there was no confirmation that Ethan had divorced his then-wife.
As per Page Six, sources close to Ariana and the 31-year-old SpongeBob SquarePants musical star firmly denied speculation that they had cheated on their respective former partners and instead claimed that they only began seeing each other romantically once they were both single.
Her new song “Yes, and?” is likely a response to the negative reactions Ariana has received since she was first linked with Ethan Slater
Nevertheless, the timing of their newly found romance has continuously been questioned, especially since Ethan and Ariana have been filming the musical adaptation of Wicked for the past three years.
Moreover, Lilly Jay publicly denounced Ariana, telling Page Six that she felt the singer was “not a girl’s girl.” She additionally told the Daily Mail, “I am focused on rebuilding a life for our son… This is what I am trying to do, and this is my only focus.”
Following a separate Page Six report that Ethan’s wife was “blindsided” by the actor’s relationship with Ariana, people online started labeling the 7 Rings hitmaker as a “homewrecker” and making fun of Ethan for his looks and past roles, particularly noting his physical resemblance to Ariana’s brother, Frankie Grande.
While Ariana and Ethan were first rumored to be dating, the singer had just split with her now ex-husband, while Ethan had also recently separated from his wife
Ariana and Ethan’s romance has seemingly continued to grow, sparking further backlash from several internet users.
There is no confirmation of who Ariana is referring to in “Yes, and?”, but many people have been speculating that she was making a jab at all the adverse reactions around her romance with Ethan.
While some fans have argued that Ariana had done nothing wrong, the former Nickelodeon star was also met with disappointment for her controversial lyric choices.
On X (formerly known as Twitter), people’s reactions were divided as a person wrote: “Can we just cancel #ArianaGrande for being a homewrecker.”
“Your business is yours and mine is mine,” Ariana sings
Another individual commented: “It’s truly disgusting how people defend Ariana Grande.
“She wasn’t lied to by Ethan about being single. She knew about the wife and child, she spent time with them.
“You don’t blame the woman if she didn’t know. Ariana chose to be a piece of sh*t. They’re both rotten and selfish.”
Ariana subsequently lost hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers this month. According to the analytics site SocialBlade, the singer has lost a total of 369,630 followers on Instagram since the start of January.
As a result of the controversy, the singer has lost a total of 369,630 followers on Instagram since the start of January
The data suggests that the vast majority of people who unfollowed Ariana did so after her song “Yes, and?” was announced on January 7.
In the past, the songstress had already been accused of “ruining” relationships in favor of herself.
Back in 2014, Ariana and rapper Big Sean went public with their relationship just months after his engagement to the late Glee star, Naya Rivera, ended.
You can watch the music video for “Yes, and?” below:
Ariana had also been accused of “stealing” Mac Miller, who had been in a long-term relationship with his high school sweetheart, Nomi Leasure.
In 2018, the singer embarked on a very high-profile but short-lived romance (and engagement) with Pete Davidson not long after he ended his two-year relationship with Cazzie David, according to SheKnows, growing speculations that Ariana had “stolen,” once again, another man from their girlfriend.
Some readers said Ariana’s “behavior” left a “bad taste in their mouths”
Ariana Grande slammed as ‘homewrecker’ by fans as she addresses Ethan Slater backlash in ‘Yes, And?’
Ariana Grande is being labeled a “homewrecker” following the release of her new single, “Yes, And?”
In the song, she addressed the backlash she received after she began dating Ethan Slater by telling fans to mind their business.
“Say that s–t with your chest, keep moving like, ‘What’s next? Yes, and?’” she sings.
“Your business is yours, and mine is mine,” the lyrics go on. “Why do you care so much whose d–k I ride?”
Fans answered the 30-year-old pop star’s question by immediately taking to social media to tear apart her relationship, which they theorize started before Slater, 31, broke up with his estranged wife, Lilly Jay.
“this woman is so ugly and nasty. like you f–ked a whole-ass married man and you’re the victim???” one person slammed
“go spend your time sucking that spongebob d–k … instead of crying to us!!” they added, referring to Slater, who played the titular character in the “Spongebob Squarepants” musical in 2017.
A second unamused troll added, “No one cares whose d–k you suck. But don’t forget what you did.”
They continued, “You ruined the life of the child and the women (sic). You could’ve sucked anyone’s d–k. But you choose to destroy a family. Truly a disgusting women (sic).”
“she helped ruin an entire family with a newborn baby and now she wants to play the victim by dissing the internet and press like she wasn’t caught,” a third unhappy fan wrote. “i can’t stand her.”
“promoting being a homewrecker is not the gag u think it is ….” said a fourth.
Dozens of other colorfully-worded messages about Grande were shared online as well — but not everyone was set on ripping her apart.
Hundreds of fans took to social media to praise her and celebrate that “Yes, And?” entered the Top 10 on the Apple Music Songs chart.
Even Katy Perry gushed over the ’80s-inspired song, writing, “YES AND ITS GREAT SO WHAT I SAID IT WITH MY CHEST,” under Grande’s announcement that it had been released.
In July 2023, Page Six confirmed Grande — who met Slater on the set of the “Wicked” movie in London early last year — and her husband of two years, real estate agent Dalton Gomez, were ending their marriage.
A source told us at the time that Grande and Gomez were separated for months before they decided to legally split and stayed “really good friends throughout the entire process.”
Their divorce was finalized in October 2023.
Grande and Gomez’s situation was in stark contrast to what happened when Slater filed for divorce from Jay that same month.
Although a person close to the situation told Page Six the pair had been broken up for two months before he started romancing the Grammy winner, Jay blasted Grande one day after Slater submitted the filing.
“[She’s] not a girl’s girl,” Jay told Page Six exclusively at the time. “My family is just collateral damage.”
An insider added that Jay — who shares a 17-month-old-son with Slater — was “completely blindsided” by his relationship with Grande.
The “Break Free” songstress and Broadway actor have mostly kept to themselves since then, but are occasionally seen in public together on rare outings, including a trip to Disneyland and a date night in NYC.