Ariana Grande Responds to Controversary Over Manchester Pride
February 28, 2019Ariana Grande has taken to Twitter to respond to the controversary surrounding the surge in Manchester Pride tickets, reports the Evening Standard.
Prices for the festival more than doubled this year from £22 to £28 to £70.95.
“Ariana headlining pride when she’s straight (as far as we’re all aware) .... and doubling the price of tickets .... kinda smells like exploitation of the lgbt community to me .....” one twitter user tweeted.
“Hi my love. I have nothing to do with ticket pricing—Manchester pride sets those rates, and they’re mostly out of my control,” Ariana responded.
“The lgbtq community has been so special to me and supportive throughout my entire career. The relationships I have with my lgbtq fans, friends, and family make me so so happy.
“I want to celebrate and support this community, regardless of my identity or how people label me. And also I wanna visit a city that means so much to me.
“LGBTQ representation is incredibly important, and I’m always proud to share the stage with lgbtq artists!”
Grande also pointed out she follows in a long line of straight artists preforming at Pride
“Over the years, pride events have been headlined by performers and artists of all sexual orientations and genders, including straight allies like Cher and Kylie Minogue,” she added.
“I do think there’s room for us to talk about these issues without equating a performance *for* an lgbtq audience with exploitation of the lgbtq community.
“If you truly feel like I didn’t deserve to be offered this spot, I respect that. but I did accept it excitedly and gratefully.
“I’m not claiming to be the hero of the community or the face of the lgbtq rights movement—I just wanna put on a show that makes my lgbtq fans feel special and celebrated and supported. That’s all I wanna do.”
Keep up to date with the latest myGnews