Double no-show. Ariana Grande dropped out of another scheduled appearance last-minute due to personal reasons on Saturday, October 13, and her manager, Scooter Braun, admitted he wasn’t happy about it.
The former Sam & Cat actress, 25, was supposed to perform at the F–ck Cancer Gala at Warner Bros. Studios in L.A. where Braun’s wife, Yael Cohen, was receiving an award, but the pop star was not in attendance.
A source tells Us Weekly that Braun seemed “annoyed” as he addressed her absence at the event. “He definitely seemed pissed/disappointed,” the source told Us.
“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,” Braun said of Grande, according to E!. “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.'” The Daily Show‘s Trevor Noah filled in for the singer with a standup comedy performance.
The cancellation marks the second time the “Breathin” singer has pulled out of a big appearance at the last minute: she also bowed out of a scheduled appearance on Saturday Night Live’s season 44 premiere at the end of September.
Producer Lorne Michaels explained during an “Origins With James Andrew Miller” podcast on September 27 why Grande decided not to appear. “We had Ariana drop out for emotional reasons two days ago,” the 73-year-old said. “That’s our premiere, and then Kanye [West] stepped up.” Grande had been struggling after the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller due to a suspected drug overdose on September 7.
Grande admitted she was having a “tough month” following the rapper’s death in a series of cryptic messages posted to Twitter last month. “I’m trying to get my work done and get back to normal and it’s hard and i’m human and tired,” she wrote at the time.
