thank u, next // gender and media cw: mention of substance abuse and death

Ariana Grande released a teaser for her newest music video to the song “thank u, next” on November 27th, and it already has more than 6,000 views on youtube. Various articles point to the political undertones of the teaser, as well as the social ones. She enlisted various celebrities, including but not limited to Troye Sivan, and utilized settings from the movies Legally Blonde and Mean Girls. One potential theme of this music video could relate to all the rumors which have been spread about her recently, including a comment someone made about her relationship with Mac Miller, the late rapper from Pennsylvania. The comment made implied that Ariana was responsible for her ex-boyfriend’s addiction and subsequent death, which is incorrect, but gained a lot of support through social media. An uproar resulted from this; many people fought against these claims, saying that they were sexist and that Ariana should not have to fight anybody else’s demons or illnesses but her own. Ariana, in this teaser, utilizes forces of pop culture which are deemed extremely significant so that she can more powerfully deconstruct ideas regarding gender-based discrimination in media.