Ariana Grande canceled another scheduled performance as she takes time to heal amid personal turmoil, most recently her ex Mac Miller's death.
The "No Tears Left to Cry" singer was supposed to make her onstage return on Saturday after staying out of the spotlight since the rapper died in September. She was set to perform at F--k Cancer's inaugural Barbara Berlanti Heroes fundraising gala, where her manager Scooter Braun gave a speech and his wife Yael Cohen Braun received an honor for her work as co-founder of the group.
"One of the most amazing things about this organization is that they help people when they're having the worst moments in their life, and they give sympathy and a calm nature to people in need in those moments. And you saw your invite, someone I'm very close to was supposed to come sing for you today, and because of things that she's going through, she couldn't be here today," Scooter told the crowd. "And while I was frustrated, being the manager, my wife, being who she always is, just looked at me and she goes, 'She needs this time.'"
Scooter said he "called in a favor" and arranged for The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, Yael's favorite comic, to perform a short stand-up act in Ariana's place.
At the gala, Ariana was supposed to perform a duet of a song from Broadway's Wicked with original star Kristen Chenoweth. The latter singer performed "Bring Him Home" from Les Misérables by herself instead.
Ariana remains a scheduled performer of NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween: Celebrating 15 Years on Broadway, a concert tribute hosted by Chenoweth and former co-star Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth. The show airs on October 29.
The Goldbergs and Curb Your Enthusiasm star and comedian Jeff Garlin hosted F--k Cancer's inaugural Barbara Berlanti Heroes fundraising gala, which took place at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Other celebrities who attended included Olivia Munn, Rachel Zoe, Sara Foster, Aisha Tyler and Stephen Amell, who also received an award for his work raising funds and awareness for the organization.
Mac, whose real name is Malcolm McCormick, was found dead in his Los Angeles home after suffering an apparent overdose. He was 26. He and Ariana, 25, had dated for at least a year and a half until they broke up earlier this year. After his death, Ariana paid tribute to him on Twitter. She then began a break from the spotlight.
Mac's death came more than a year after a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured dozens more at Ariana's concert in Manchester. While the singer was not physically harmed, she was left with PTSD.
"Given the events of the past couple of years, Ariana is going to take some much needed time to heal and mend," Grande's team said in a statement on September 17. "She will be staying close to home and using this period to spend time with her loved ones and work on new music without deadline. She thanks her fans for their understanding."
A week later, Ariana signaled on social media that she won't be touring for a long time. She later said she might do a mini tour.
Ariana soon canceled a scheduled performance on SNL's 44th season premiere. But she did accompany her fiancé and cast member Pete Davidson to the live taping.
Last week, Ariana posted an amateur video for her single "Breathin'," which contains footage of her and Pete's pet pig, Piggy Smalls, an emotional support pet. She had earlier told her fans that she still needed to shoot a music video for the track.
"Don't kill me i took some time off bc i was real sad and we didn't expect the record to pop off like this," she tweeted. "I love u. don't kill me pls. i'm on it. promise."
She also wrote, "I'm feeling sm better lately and this music is sick i'm so happy i love u," and added that she will indeed perform at her scheduled concert at the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on December 29.
"I'll be singing and i'll see u there!" she tweeted.