Does Ariana Grande’s ‘Eternal Sunshine’ Transcend Public Condemnation of Her Personal Life?
And Does it Matter?
The release of Ariana Grande’s latest album, Eternal Sunshine, coincided terribly well with a mysterious sickness I came down with on Friday. Drowsy, isolated and relegated to my bedroom to recover, listening to the lilting, synth arpeggios of the titular track, a callout to the cult-classic film directed by Michel Gondry–Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), was like a menthol to my aching throat.
It is a lush, impeccably produced album, no doubt advanced by Swedish pop-powerhouse producer Max Martin (who recently broke the record for most №1s among producers in the history of the Billboard Hot 100), and Grande’s own technical and production prowess. It’s been released to critical acclaim, amidst a lot of whispers wondering if she would be able to transcend the recent public censure that’s come about from her personal life. Though not everyone will, I think the majority of listeners will find it a well done, well polished album, with an undeniably pretty 90s, y2k, R&B pop feel, given a modern revival.
That being said, I think a lot of people listening to her latest album aren’t there for the music- but for the narrative. If you haven’t been in the loop, Grande has been subject to a lot of criticism over her personal life (peep this top comment in reddit that I think encapsulates the overall vibe).
Following her divorce from real-estate mogul Dalton Gomez, who she married in May 2021, Grande’s budding relationship with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater fell under the scrutiny of many, especially as the news broke just three days after her split from Gomez was officially announced. Timelines are blurry- whilst some sources claim that both Grande and Slater were already separated from their partners when they started dating, the public consensus seems to involve some suspicion of overlap. Compounding on this was the fact that Slater’s ex-wife Lilly Jay had not long ago given birth to their 1-year old child. Grande is outed by Jay as “not a girl’s girl,” with Jay’s family acting as “just collateral damage” in Grande’s story. Details emerge that Grande & Gomez have been on double dates with Slater & Jay. Anecdotal evidence says Grande held the baby.
It was the perfect storm for the tabloids and social media, and following this, public reception of Grande took a drastic turn. At least personally, I have come across a plethora of comments, with hundreds verging upon thousands of likes, vehemently censuring Grande and her behavior. She is “coming to steal your man”, running off with Spongebob (Slater played the role of the titular character on Broadway), and she is irrevocably now, a homewrecker. She is at the top of threads about infidelity, falls from grace, and it’s clear that she has crossed an irreversible moral boundary in the public’s eye. And it is indeed a sad situation, at least from the information we have. We look at the new mother, now post-divorce with a year-old baby, whilst her former partner is ensconced in ridicule- and on the other hand the pop starlet, once publicly acclaimed for her reaction to the tragic bombing at her Manchester concert, now reduced to an ongoing gag about infidelity.
It is arguable that Grande is reprehensible for her actions and on the table for criticism, if not purely by nature of being a global celebrity. It is not the first time anecdotal evidence has suggested blurry boundaries between her break-ups and her new relationships. And celebrities often act as conversational examples, allowing us to navigate our collective moral compass, deeming what’s acceptable and what’s not, in a way that has no bearing on ourselves or our loved ones. But this also has hints of another case example where women in the spotlight have complex, adult, issues cast as all that they are, and all that they will be- and this applies to both Jay and Grande. Maybe the general sentiments of support for Jay, and the censure for Grande, have helped Jay in the aftermath of her divorce- but once the rinse and repeat cycle of the press moves on, she will still be left with the long lasting effects of the scrutiny, and the exposure, good and bad. What will it be like for her child, who will grow up privy to a painstaking, day by day record of how Jay and Slater’s marriage ended? And as for Grande, who has weathered her fair share of troubles in the public eye, from the Manchester Arena bombing at her concert, to the death of her long-time friend and partner Mac Miller, she is now only viewable through the lens of her most recent scandal. I don’t think anyone is the winner here, and whilst it is important to call out and criticize behavior, especially from our “faves”, it is also symptomatic of a culture in which we increasingly turn to celebrities, who are at the end of the day just disproportionately rich, flawed, humans, as exemplars of how we should live our own lives. And how interesting that amongst all of this, Slater has been reduced to “the Spongebob guy”- nothing more than a role, a caricature. The reduction of his role to meme status, glosses over his own agency in a situation where he is also responsible. Where is his complicity in this? When has he ever been held accountable, without Grande being the main subject? Most attempts at criticism have landed on his looks, as opposed to his actions and choices — which says a lot about how we now choose to dish out criticism and justice.
Which brings us back to Eternal Sunshine. It’s an interesting coincidence that the album was released on International Women’s Day this year, given the “not a girl’s girl” discourse. It is a beautiful album filled with celestial, cathartic tracks, but it is clear that reception of this album will be inextricable from Grande’s personal life. And really, your mileage will vary on this one- but it seems like Grande will struggle this time, to hoist public opinion back under her control as she did with “Thank U, Next”. That being said, I think it is worth dialing back the rush to completely vilify or pardon the album and the people involved. People, situations, and relationships are complex, and I think what has been lost in a lot of this, is the fact that one can be held accountable and criticized, without it encompassing everything one is as a person. Of course, there is a sliding scale of what is redeemable- from sexual assault and abuse, to infidelity, to using bots for views. What you think of Grande, and how much it matters to you, is your decision to make and yours only. But it is worth considering your choice whilst giving the album a listen, as I know I will be doing, wondering about who I would and wouldn’t take the chance to “Eternal Sunshine” from my life.
