Charli XCX’s brat and it’s completely different but also still brat remix album is here! In early October, the artist teased who would be on the remix album, which dropped on Oct. 11, and it includes artists like Ariana Grande and Tinashe. On Ariana Grande’s “Sympathy Is A Knife” remix, the lyrics are pretty pointed, and call out those plastic surgery rumors she’s been dealing with for years.
Grande has been targeted for her appearance for the majority of her career, with rumors swirling that she got multiple cosmetic procedures including a nose job and a fox eye lift. Grande didn’t hesitate to put these rumors to rest, and she didn’t hold back on telling the truth in her own words. In the “Sympathy Is A Knife” lyrics, Grande sings, “It’s a knife when you know they’re counting on your mistakes / It’s a knife when you’re so pretty, they think you must be fake / It’s a knife when they dissect your body on the front page / It’s a knife when they won’t believe you, why should you explain?”
This isn’t the first time that Grande has opened up about the public bashing her for her weight and the plastic surgery rumors. In 2023, Grande was a part of Vogue’s Beauty Secrets series, where she revealed that she had face injectables for years on end. In the video, she stated, “I’ve had ton of lip fillers over the years and Botox. My relationship to beauty has changed so much over the years, especially when people have like things to say about your appearance and stuff at a young age.”
The rumors hit a particular high point in April 2023, and Grande was forced to address the body-shaming comments in a TikTok video. In the video, Grande states, “I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies no matter what.” And most recently, on Sept. 30, Grande and her Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo were featured in Vanity Fair’s Lie Detector Test series, where Grande was asked multiple questions about plastic surgery. When asked if she ever had breast implants or a nose job, she denied it all — besides the aforementioned lip fillers and Botox. “This is the best day of my life. Take that, you YouTube people,” she said, setting the record straight once and for all.
It’s not like Grande is vehemently against cosmetic procedures, though. She said in the Vanity Fair video, “Whatever makes women, men, non-gender confirming people feel beautiful, should be allowed. Why do we care?” Honestly, I couldn’t agree more with this statement.
Based on Grande’s lyrics in “Sympathy Is A Knife,” she’s calling out those who relentlessly judge her for the way her body looks. As a society, it’s not no one’s place to tell someone how they should look. Instead, embrace your inner self for what you truly are, just like Grande is.