Ariana Grande and her Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo surprised fans on the red carpet earlier this month, where they looked “a lot more emaciated.”
At the premiere of her new movie, fans online expressed concern that Ariana seemed “very fragile,” while others took a funnier view, saying, “Ozempic is Ozempicking!”
Aesthetic doctors warn that both stars’ dramatic transformation could be due to their restrictive vegan diets, which require careful management.
Dr. Dennis Schimpf, a South Carolina plastic surgeon, warned that diets leave people at risk for a protein deficiency that can cause muscles to waste away, literally leaving “skin and bones.”
He also said that Ariana’s seemingly much paler appearance could be due to a nutritional deficiency, which may have been caused by her restrictive diet.
Former vegans who post online also say they see a reflection of their struggle in Ariana’s appearance, adding that her appearance resembles “end-stage veganism.”
Dr Schimpf told DailyMail.com: ‘Vegan diets tend to have problems with protein, which causes muscle atrophy.
“Often, people who are strict vegans have to take significant protein supplements or add protein powders to their shakes.”
But doctors couldn’t rule out that Ozempic or the stress of filming and promoting a major Hollywood blockbuster played a role in his radical transformations.
The graphic above posted online shows Ariana Grande at a show in 2018 and again at the same show, also wearing a pink dress, in 2024.
‘And, although they can increase protein intake this way, the type of protein is not as effective as things like steak, chicken and fish. Supplemented protein tends not to be as effective as dietary protein.
Ariana has been vegan for over a decade and revealed the change in her diet in 2013 due to her love of animals like dogs, goats and seahorses.
Cynthia has also been vegan since 2018, and initially made the switch because her body “couldn’t handle red meat” before sticking with it for ethical reasons.
Ariana’s coach said in a 2017 interview with PopSugar that this 31-year-old man survives daily on smoothies, salads, brown rice, tofu and stir-fried vegetables.
As a snack, she tends to reach for berries, particularly blueberries and strawberries, which Ariana said in a tweet last month were her “favorites” and that she ate “five a day.”
Dr. Schimpf added: “Pale skin can (also) be indicative of nutritional stress, although honestly, it’s very difficult to assess in these celebrities.
“They are never photographed completely intact or without makeup, tanner or any type of concealer on their skin.”
The images above show Ariana Grande and her co-star Cynthia Erivo before Wicked.
And, again, after the production of the movie Wicked
He said it was also possible that alcohol consumption or stress was behind a nutritional deficiency causing pale skin.
And he added that pale skin could be due to certain treatments or lasers that slightly altered its tone or tone.
Dr. Michael Salzhauer, a plastic surgeon known as ‘Dr. Miami’, disagreed with suggestions that Ariana’s appearance was due to a vegan diet.
“I don’t think it’s veganism per se,” he told DailyMail.com, “because I know some prominent vegans, so I wonder if there’s something else going on.”
‘In the recent photo I saw of her online, she looks, I would say, “very thin”, and you know that’s worrying as a doctor.
‘If you look at her temple region (the area on the side of the head between the forehead and the ear), you can see that on Ariana it is cupped, which happens when you are malnourished or wasted. It’s worrying when you see that.’
He suggested that Ariana could also be struggling with some type of mental health issue, which could be behind her more haggard appearance.
The FDA says the average woman needs about 46 grams of protein per day, or less than a whole steak or about a cup and a half of tofu.
“I love Ariana and I don’t think people should comment on other people’s bodies but there’s no way you can look at her and not think she’s unhealthy,” one user said. Pictured at the premiere in London last night.
Posing alongside her co-stars Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey, the star showed off slim shoulders and prominent collarbones, while her breastbone was also visible. Pictured at the premiere in London last night.
Research has previously shown that without careful management a vegan diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies and health problems, causing symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, muscle atrophy and skin problems.
Cynthia also revealed this month how the couple had been stressed during the filming of Wicked, with production being suspended several times due to the Covid pandemic and then the writers’ strike.
she told him New York Times: ‘At first, (the strike) seemed like an interruption, and then, as it progressed, it seemed like the break we needed. We had worked ourselves to the bone.
“I was really grateful because the next thing we had to do (until the attack happened) was ‘defy gravity,’ and it felt like the universe was saying, ‘You need all your strength to do this.'”
Dr. Schimpf added: “Stress can lead to significant weight loss as well as changes in eating habits.”
In a YouTube interview with First we celebrate Three months ago, Ariana said her Italian family was ‘always trying to give me meatballs’.
She added that her grandmother also often forgot, or pretended to forget, that she was vegan.
Plastic surgeons also said it was impossible not to rule out Ozempic as the possible driver of Ariana’s sudden weight loss.
Last year, the Thank U, Next singer clapped back at bodyshamers and insisted she was healthier than ever. Pictured at a Wicked photo shoot in Sydney earlier this month.
Dr. David Shokrian, a New York City plastic surgeon, told DailyMail.com: “It doesn’t have to be Ozempic, it could be natural weight loss, but the speed at which it happened…
“It’s just harder when you’re already thin to lose even more weight in that period of time without a real change in diet and exercise routine.”
He added: “At Ozempic, you see these dramatic changes in a short period of time.”
The Twitter account Recovering Vegan, run by journalist Giselle Bisson, who was vegan for 18 years before having health problems, said on Twitter/X: ‘Ariana Grande has been vegan since 2013. This seems like “stage vegan malnutrition.” terminal”, B-12. ozalate deficiency and overload.
‘She eats mainly salads and blueberries. The ponytail is probably a hairpiece.
Oxalate overload occurs when there is too much oxalate in the blood, oxalate being a compound found in animals and plants that can cause kidney stones.
Another Twitter user said: ‘This is what years of a vegan diet have done to Ariana Grande.
‘It’s heartbreaking to see similar deterioration happening to all my vegan friends at home.
“I fear that the propaganda is so deeply ingrained in their brains that they will not recover until they are literally on the brink of death.”