The cultural microscope currently fixated on actress Sydney Sweeney just got a little sharper—and it may have been Ariana Grande who twisted the lens.
What started as social media chatter around an American Eagle ad campaign—accused by critics of subtly invoking eugenics-era aesthetics—has snowballed into a broader reckoning for the 28-year-old actress. Sweeney’s public registration as a Republican, combined with recent revelations of her rumored romance with Scooter Braun (Ariana Grande’s former manager), have made her the target of fierce online debate, fan outrage, and now, what many are calling an industry cold shoulder.
Enter Ariana Grande, 32, who appeared to deliver a subtle—but unmistakable—jab during her latest appearance on Vanity Fair’s Lie Detector Test video series alongside SNL star Bowen Yang.
Mid-interview, Grande slid a photo across the table of Yang and Sweeney during a March 2024 Saturday Night Live sketch. With the polygraph monitor humming, she posed the question:
“Was I better than this woman?”
Yang, somewhat sheepishly, replied yes—though he added that his kiss with Sweeney had been rushed due to production logistics. But fans zeroed in on the phrasing, not the answer.
“Not Ari calling Sydney Sweeney ‘this woman,’” one X user posted.
“‘This woman’ shall hereby be her name in perpetuity,” another quipped.
To some, the moment was innocuous, a scripted line consistent with the tongue-in-cheek format of the video series. Others, however, saw Grande’s refusal to use Sweeney’s name as deliberate, especially given their overlapping history with Scooter Braun—a powerful figure whose name carries its own baggage across pop culture.
Supporters of Grande rushed to defend the exchange:
“That’s just how these Lie Detector segments go—build tension, add drama, get a quote,” wrote one fan.
“It’s part of the bit. People need to calm down.”
But the context matters. Grande’s comment landed at a time when Sweeney’s career is undergoing a noticeable shift—from rising star to lightning rod.
In recent weeks, Sweeney has seen co-stars and celebrities begin to distance themselves. Actress Ruby Rose was among the first to post cryptically about “performative patriots,” while Aimee Lou Wood chimed in with a sharp comment about “influencers who don’t understand history but love the aesthetic.” Neither named Sweeney, but the timing was difficult to ignore.
Add to that the firestorm over her rumored relationship with Braun, and the internet has begun speculating whether Sweeney is quickly becoming a persona non grata in some Hollywood circles.
Meanwhile, Grande herself isn’t without controversy. Her much-publicized romance with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater ignited criticism due to the messy timing of their respective breakups—hers with Dalton Gomez, and his with wife Lilly Jay. The fallout has earned Grande some backlash of her own, though it hasn’t stopped her from engaging in the Sweeney saga, even if subtly.
