Ariana Grande is facing backlash online over claims she appropriated black and queer culture with her outfits for her Sweetener Tour, which began in March.
Both drag queen Farrah Moan and the popular fashion Instagram account Diet Prada have called the star out for her costumes on the tour.
The furore started after news broke on 3 September that Ariana Grande was suing fashion brand Forever 21 for using a lookalike model of Grande for a campaign, after a collaboration between the two didn’t work out. Drag queen Farrah Moan then stepped in on 4 September, claiming she deserves some of the $10 million (£8.3 million) Ariana is suing for.
‘Ariana should give me a cut of that 10M since her team literally sent a pic of me to the designer and paid them to copy my look from AS4’ Moan tweeted, referring to an outfit she wore on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars - Season 4. ‘(Finally met the designer and got told the Tea) I guess stealing from queer artists for profit is fine tho,’ she continued.
A day later, on 5 September, Diet Prada – an Instagram account known for calling people in the fashion industry out for stealing ideas – posted what they claim is a mood board for Ariana Grande’s tour, featuring images of Rihanna, Ciara and bondage wear.
‘If you've ever needed proof of Ariana Grande’s appropriation of black aesthetics (beyond the obvious), it's all here’ read the post.
‘Multiple designers approached by her team to create costumes for the 2019 Sweetener tour have shared with us a PDF moodboard sent to them by her team.
‘72% of the four page document features black women as a reference (mostly Rihanna and a couple Ciara images). It also features several images of @creepyyeha 's distinctive made-to-measure bondagewear, which Versace - despite having bondage in their house codes as well - seemed to have replicated with minor changes. Arianators, come at us lol.’
Since then, Law Roach, a celebrity stylist who helped with Grande’s Sweetener look, posted to his Instagram Story to address the claims, saying he made the mood board, and doesn’t see the problem with it.
‘I don't really understand this post,’ he wrote. ‘This mood board was created by me (a black man) for her. So am [I] stealing from my own culture?? She didn't style herself people.
‘She has trusted me for years with her image and lets me do me. Also who [in] the fashion industry isn't inspired by Rihanna so dieters come at me and whoever else I'm ready!!!!’
Grande’s Sweetener tour concludes on 22 December, with the next date on 11 September in Amsterdam. She recently cancelled a meet-and-greet with fans in Antwerp, Belgium, admitting her mental health was suffering and that she needed a break.