14 DAY TRIAL // Less than 2 weeks ago, one tabloid report claimed that pop star Ariana Grande was the biggest diva around, even bigger than Mariah Carey, whom she passionately hated. To those of you who brushed that off as yet another tabloid rumor made up to sully the reputation of a good girl, here’s what News.com.au has to say: Ariana is hell to work with.
There was a lot of truth in previous reports saying that Ariana was an insufferable diva, the publication informs. She was in Australia just the other day and she caused a huge tantrum when photographers she had invited to a press event refused to delete photos she was unhappy with.
So she just got up and left, walking out on a room full of media people who, of course, revealed all the details of the awkward meeting the moment they had a chance to.
Making diva demands already
Ariana Grande may be young but it seems that her reputation of a “young Mariah Carey” has already gotten to her head because she’s already making huge diva demands.
In Australia to promote her new album, she only agreed to meet with the media representatives for Q&As and photos after issuing a long list of demands that banned them, among other things, from asking questions about: relationships / dating / ex-boyfriends, Mariah Carey, Sam & Cat / Jennette McCurdy, working / collaborating with Justin Bieber, and her grandfather passing away, the aforementioned media outlet notes.
So far, it’s all fair: perhaps some of these topics (grandfather’s death or her new romance with Big Sean) are too close to her heart to discuss them with strangers, and maybe she wants certain areas of her career to remain off-focus while she promotes her album.
It is widely assumed that most topics are fair game during promotional appearances, but Ariana could have easily gotten a free pass if she and her people had merely limited the list of demands to these.
They didn’t. “Photographers were also given last-minute instructions from the Problem star’s minders: DON’T use natural light. DO shoot only from the left side of her face,” the Australian e-zine reports.
Moreover, Ariana insisted on seeing every single frame snapped of her and vetoing on whether the photographer could keep it for consideration on later use.
A single “bad” photo made her walk out on the press
So, when she found one photo she didn’t like and the photographer who snapped it refused to delete it on the spot, she complained that she hated how her top looked in it, and just stormed out.
According to the report, which is the account of a media representative who was there, everyone assumed she would come back because she’d only gone to change the offending top. Her rep returned later to inform them that Ariana was done – and that the entire meeting had been canceled.
You can imagine the disappointment and the outrage of the media representatives, who had probably waited for hours to meet the star.
Sending bodyguards to retrieve camera equipment is the “thing” with Ariana
To make matters even worse – not that her refusal to return and act like a professional wasn’t bad enough – Ariana also sent one of her bodyguards to go after the photographer who “dared” to defy her and not delete a photo she didn’t like.
They asked him once more to delete the photo and, when he refused, they went after him and tried to get his equipment from the boot of the car. Useless to say, pulling a stunt like this is never a good idea. Just ask Kanye West: he’s tried it a couple of times and is now in the middle of a very publicized lawsuit with a paparazzo, who accused him of battery and theft.
Making enemies is not the way to go to the top
Ariana Grande is talented and pretty and young, so she has all the right stuff to make it to the top. However, what she must understand from the get-go is that she will have a much easier journey there if she acts professionally and not impose her ridiculous demands on the people she needs to promote her work.
She wasn’t dealing with the paparazzi or managers, both of whom would always strive to do her bidding just to keep her happy, she was dealing with media people, i.e. the link between her and the fans, that important link in the chain that helps her reach to new people.
If she keeps this up, she will find out – the hard way – that it’s difficult getting by in the industry with just the fans and no media support.