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Ariana Grande pens letter after encounter with fan left her feeling 'sick and objectified'

'I thought all this was cute and exciting until he said ‘Ariana is sexy as hell man I see you, I see you hitting that’,' says the pop singer

Maya Oppenheim
Thursday 29 December 2016 10:51 EST
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Grande suggested that expressing ones sexuality did not amount to asking to be disrespected
Grande suggested that expressing ones sexuality did not amount to asking to be disrespected (Getty Images)

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Ariana Grande has publicly rebuked a man who made her feel “sick and objectified”.

The pop singer said a fan approached her boyfriend and rapper Mac Miller to tell him he was a massive fan but went on to comment on Grande’s appearance.

Writing about the experience in a post on her Twitter account on Wednesday, Grande said the ordeal had left her feeling “quiet and hurt”. However, she said she had felt compelled to speak out about what had happened to her in an attempt to counter the shame attached to such incidents.

“A young boy followed us to the car to tell Mac that he’s a big fan,” she wrote. “He was loud and excited and by the time M was seated in the driver's seat he was literally almost in the car with us.

“I thought all this was cute and exciting until he said ‘Ariana is sexy as hell man I see you, I see you hitting that’.”

Grande said that such incidents were commonplace and helped to contribute to women’s feelings of “fear and inadequacy”. She expressed her sadness at the fact so many young people used similar language.

Grande argued she was not an object men could simply use for their pleasure but was instead a human being in a relationship with a man who treated her with both love and respect.

“I felt like speaking out about this one experience tonight because I know very well that most women know the sensation of being spoken about in an uncomfortable way publicly or taken advantage of publicly by a man,” she concluded.

“We need to talk about these moments openly because they are harmful and they live on inside of us as shame. We need to share and be vocal when something makes us feel uncomfortable because if we don’t, it will just continue. We are not objects or prizes. We are QUEENS.“

In further tweets, Grande suggested that expressing one's sexuality did not amount to asking to be disrespected.

“Expressing sexuality in art is not an invitation for disrespect!!! just like wearing a short skirt is not asking for assault".

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