Ariana Grande Exits West End's 'Sunday in the Park With George' Revival Amid 'Endless, Ongoing Public Scrutiny'

Ariana Grande’s West End debut will have to wait.

The singer has stepped away from next summer’s revival of Sunday in the Park With George, where she was set to return to the stage alongside her Wicked costar Jonathan Bailey.

Grande’s decision comes as she prepares to wrap her Eternal Sunshine Tour in London on September 1. Following the tour, the pop star plans to take time away from public appearances and focus on a much-needed break.

“Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour,” a rep for Grande told Deadline.

While the break means she will no longer be part of the Sunday in the Park With George production, Grande remains supportive of the project and its creative team.

A source shared that the Brighter Days star “cannot wait to support the brilliant team bringing this project to life.”

“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 rep told People. “This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”

“She performs a very physical show, and there is a lot of athleticism involved. She performs healthily and successfully at a very high level night after night,” another source explained.

Still, a rep for producers Empire Street Productions told Variety that the play will go on.

“The production will open at the Barbican in summer 2027 as planned, and casting will be announced in due course," they stated.

“We wish [Grande] nothing but the best,” the producers said. “We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support.”

The announcement comes shortly after Grande released the music video for “Petal,” the title track from her eighth studio album, which led some fans to speculate about her well-being.

An insider explained that the project explores Grande’s complicated relationship with fame and public attention.

“This album is a fight song, an anthem about the love-hate relationship with the public and their toxicity,” the source said. “This album is not about any romantic partner or breakup in that way,” they added.

Grande has previously opened up about dealing with years of comments about her appearance.

In 2025, the singer reminded fans about the impact of body-shaming while sharing an emotional video reflecting on growing up in the public eye.

"Resharing this from last year as a loving reminder to all," she captioned the clip, which showed her discussing years of criticism.

"I've been kind of doing this in front of the public and kind of been a specimen in a petri dish really since I was 16 or 17, so I have heard it all," Grande said in the video. "I've heard every version of it – of what's wrong with me. And then you fix it, and then it's wrong for different reasons. But that's everything from – even just the simplest thing – your appearance, you know?"

The former Nickelodeon star explained that dealing with constant opinions can be difficult, especially after spending much of her life in the spotlight.

"I think that it's something that is uncomfortable no matter what scale you're experiencing it on," she said, adding "even if you go to Thanksgiving dinner, and someone's granny says, 'Oh my God, you look skinnier! What happened?' or 'You look heavier! What happened?'"