Ariana Grande has opened up in a candid message to her fans on Tuesday (local time), responding to speculation on social media regarding her weight and appearance.
In a vulnerable piece-to-camera shared with her 30.7 million followers on TikTok, the 29-year-old - dressed in a simple grey hoodie with her hair pushed back - said she wanted to "address concerns" about her body, adding: "There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful."
In the three-minute confessional, Grande urged her followers to be "gentler and less comfortable" with making comments and observations on people's bodies, taking a swipe at the body-shaming rhetoric that so often plagues social media.
"I don't do this often. I don't like it. I'm not good at it. But I just wanted to address your concerns about my body, and talk a little bit about what it means to be a person with a body and to be seen and to be paid such close attention to," she began.
"There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful. And personally, for me, the body that you've been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body.
"I was on a lot of antidepressants - and drinking on them - and eating poorly and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my 'healthy' - but that, in fact, wasn't my healthy."
The Grammy winner added that while she shouldn't have to address any issues with her health publicly, she hoped "something good might come" from her vulnerability .
"You never know what someone is going through, so even if you're coming from a loving place or a caring place, that person probably is working on it - or has a support system that they're working on it with. You never know, so be gentle with each other and yourselves," she continued.
"Sending you guys a lot of love, and I think you're beautiful no matter what you're going through, no matter what weight, no matter how you like to do your makeup these days, no matter what cosmetic procedures you've had - or not - or anything. I just think you're beautiful."
Elsewhere in the video, she encouraged her fans to simply ignore "something you see that you don't like" online, rather than feeling compelled to comment and feed into negative discourse.
She concluded her message by pointing out that she wasn't "wearing [fake] eyelashes or eyeliner" in the clip, before deadpanning: "This is my face, these are my eyes, so don't freak out about that now too, please."
The candid confessional has been well-received by her fans, amassing more than 17 million views and four million likes at the time of writing. Many have praised her vulnerability, with tens of thousands of viewers taking to the comments to leave messages of support.
"Thank you for being so raw and vulnerable, you are the sweetest," said one, with a second adding: "You are so beautiful."
"I didn't realise how much I missed you," said another, referring to Grande's step back from the limelight in recent times.
The star has recently been subjected to intense scrutiny regarding her changing appearance. A number of online commentators have shared videos in recent months speculating on possible cosmetic procedures the singer may have undergone, while others have made comments about her supposed weight loss.
Previously, Grande has been open about battling anxiety and depression, as well as suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the Manchester bombing attack in 2017.
The 'Positions' hitmaker is currently working on a two-instalment film adaptation of the Broadway musical hit, Wicked. Earlier this month, she touched on her personal development as she reached the halfway point of filming.
In a lengthy caption accompanying a photo of a rainbow on her Instagram, she wrote: "To be transforming and healing parts of me that I never knew needed it. Or maybe did. Forgive me for this most Cancerian, rambly post."
