Radio host Carrie Bickmore became emotional on Monday as she addressed growing public concerns surrounding American singer Ariana Grande's recent appearance on air. The 45-year-old broadcaster discussed the 33-year-old pop star during a segment on the Carrie & Tommy show following online debate about Grande's weight loss.
Bickmore explained to her co-host Tommy Little, 41, that she saw a clip of Grande on Instagram over the weekend. The video clip was released alongside Grande's latest music video, titled Petal, which triggered intense online scrutiny regarding the performer's frame.
"The first thing I thought when I saw the clip of Ariana... was, 'Oh, my God, I hope she's okay,'" Bickmore said. "She looked so unwell and so frail in this clip, that I then didn't want to show my daughters. And my daughters idolise her, right?"
Parenting conversations about celebrity body image
Bickmore shared her internal struggle over how to discuss the footage with her children. "I didn't know what I was meant to say to my girls. I didn't know whether I was meant to say, 'I don't want you to ever look like that. She doesn't look well. Or [was I] meant to ask them, 'How do you think she looks?'" she said.
"I was like, I don't want them focusing on her body, I want them focusing on her talent because she's incredibly talented and she's such a hard worker and that's what I want them focusing on," Bickmore continued. She added that she faced a conundrum because society encourages people not to comment on women's bodies, even when public figures share videos of themselves.
"It was just this weird conundrum in my head that I was like, how do I help in this moment? What am I meant to say? Because I had thoughts and feelings," Bickmore said. "But I'm told often that they're not right when it comes to women's bodies. That we're all meant to be kinder and gentler and not comment on someone else's body. But all I could see was that person has put a video out into the world of themselves but yet we're not meant to have thoughts and feelings about that video."
Bickmore has three children: a 19-year-old son, Oliver, from her late husband Greg Lange, and two daughters, Evie, 11, and Adelaide, seven, whom she shares with her former partner Chris Walker. During the broadcast, Bickmore and Little took a phone call from a listener who argued that a parent's "first responsibility is always to our children."
The mother of three agreed with the listener regarding online behavior. "I think one of the challenges in society today is with all of the things that you can't judge and comment on, and I agree to the inappropriateness of commenting on someone's body online," Bickmore said.
Home conversations and music video controversy
"It should not stop us from having open and honest conversations in our home. That is supposed to be a safe space for that. It's supposed to be a safe place for our kids," Bickmore said.
The discussion followed the release of Grande's music video for Petal, which sparked concern among fans after showcasing her alarmingly thin frame. The video depicts an aspiring performer named Pepper who undergoes several personality and image overhauls after receiving negative feedback from casting executives.
After several failed auditions, Pepper snaps and slays the casting bosses with a chainsaw when they call her "inauthentic" and say they preferred her earlier look. A plot twist reveals that Pepper is actually a famous movie star filming a story about an actress driven to madness by rejection and critique.
The video serves as social commentary on Grande's complicated relationship with fame and ongoing public scrutiny. Grande doubled down on this message when announcing plans to step away from the limelight.
Ariana Grande break from public life
On Sunday, Grande announced that she will take a break following concerns over her appearance once her concert tour, The Eternal Sunshine, wraps in London on September 1. The singer has also withdrawn from her upcoming West End production of Sunday in the Park with George, where she was scheduled to star alongside her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey.
A spokesman for Grande told PEOPLE: "Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour. She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny."
The spokesman added: "This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much."
For readers seeking support regarding eating disorders, The Butterfly Foundation can be reached on 1800 33 4673, while emergency assistance is available by calling 000.
