Ariana Grande calls criticism of viral voice-changing video a ‘double standard’

July 10, 2024

Ariana Grande has responded to criticism of a video circulating online in which she appears to change her voice mid-sentence, calling the attention a “double standard.”

Earlier this year, a video circulated on several social media platforms in which the 31-year-old speaks in a deeper tone before suddenly becoming breathier and higher in pitch. Fans were confused by the change, with some speculating that her normally casual speech was an act.

The clip of the “Positions” singer is from her appearance in an episode of You Podcast by Star Penn Badgley, Podcrushed, in which she talked about her music career and her leading role in the upcoming music film, Evil.

After having previously defended herself by saying that she often changes her tone out of “habit” and for “vocal health”, the star now went one step further and accused her critics of sexism, accusing them of not showing the same critical attitude towards men.

“You see male actors… You always think afterwards, ‘Oh wow, how dedicated he is to his craft! What an incredible transformation! He’s a brilliant actor!'” she told Evan Ross Katz in the Shut up, Evan Podcasts.

“And then, God forbid, I sneeze like Glinda or something, or if I do an emphasis… then it’s just like, I’m crazy or ‘Should someone check on her?’ It’s the weirdest thing.”

She clarified that voices often change pitch during a conversation, especially when a person has as wide a vocal range as she does. She also attributed the change to using her voice in a certain way, which she did during filming. Evil.

The new update comes after Paris Hilton was also accused of disguising her voice during a speech to Congress about child sexual abuse earlier this month.

Grande appeared with Penn Badgley on the podcast “Podcrushed” (Podcrushed)

“I intentionally change my vocal pitch (high/low) a lot depending on how much I’m singing,” Grande captioned a TikTok of her voice change last month. “I’ve always done it this way, BYE.”

Grande spoke about the techniques she uses to protect her voice in a 2013 interview and explained her higher tone.

“I spoke in a slightly higher position than usual because I’ve been doing a lot of interviews and trying to keep my voice healthy,” she said.