Ariana Grande used some strong words to defend herself on Twitter, Variety is reporting. Grande, who was nominated for two Grammys, was set to perform at the award show on February 10, only to pull out at the last minute. According to Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich, Grande cancelled her appearance due to it being “too late for her to pull something together.” According to Grande, Ehrlich is a liar.
“I’ve kept my mouth shut but now you’re lying about me,” Grande tweeted on Thursday, February 7. “I can pull together a performance over night and you know that, Ken. It was when my creativity & self expression was stifled by you, that I decided not to attend.”
Grande went on to explain via Twitter that she offered three songs to perform, which the Grammys did not approve of. Sources say that Grande was not permitted to perform her latest single, “7 Rings.” The pop singer and producers attempted to come to a compromise where she could perform a medley that included the track, but was “insulted” when the producers insisted that they be in charge of selecting the second song to be performed. This resulted in Grande not only pulling out of the performance, but refusing to attend the awards show entirely.
Sources say that Grande and her team are also upset that producers are using her image to promote the awards show, even though she is no longer performing. It has been pointed out that rapper Drake, who holds the most nominations this year and is up for three of the four marquee awards, was able to refuse the use of his likeness for promotional materials. It has been rumored that Grande and her team feel that sexism plays a part in not “being offered the same courtesy.”
This controversy is very similar to one the Grammys had last year with groundbreaking female performer Lorde. Lorde was nominated for Album of the Year, but was not allowed to perform a song from the album in question, entitled “Melodrama.” Instead, the producers wanted to have Lorde perform as a part of the Tom Petty tribute — which Lorde declined.
According to another article from Variety , Grande is nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance for her song, “God is a Woman,” and Best Pop Vocal Album for her 2018 record, Sweetener . Songs from Sweetener have broken streaming records, as well as songs from her new album, Thank U, Next , that will drop on February 8. The song that started the conflict between Grande and the Grammy producers in the first place, “7 Rings,” broke Spotify’s record for most plays within a 24-hour period with nearly 15 million listens.
