Ariana Grande is to step back from public life once her Eternal Sunshine tour ends next month, and will no longer appear in the planned West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George. A representative for the 33-year-old US singer said she would be "taking a step back from visibility" after facing "endless, ongoing public scrutiny", much of it focused on her physical appearance and health.

The tour concludes with a final London show on 1 September, after which her team say she plans to take "a much-deserved break" from public-facing work, insisting she performs a physically demanding show "healthily and successfully at a very high level night after night". She was due to co-star with her Wicked castmate Jonathan Bailey in the Sondheim revival at the Barbican in 2027; producers Empire Street Productions confirmed her withdrawal with "complete understanding and support", though no replacement has yet been named. Scrutiny over Grande's appearance intensified following the release of her new album Petal, whose title-track video shows her character being told by critics she needs "work done" before eventually turning a chainsaw on them.