Ariana Grande Says 'Thank U, Next' To 'Degrading' TikTok Impressions

Ariana Grande isn't here for people impersonating her on TikTok. And yesterday (April 23), the "Thank U, Next" singer took to her Instagram Stories to remark on how insulting people's impressions of her on the viral video app can truly be.


It all began as soon as Grande reposted filmmaker Jordan Firstman's "Impression of a Meme" video, which called out meme creators for turning other people's hard work into viral jokes. "What if we, like, we took a moment, like a tiny clip from a movie or a TV show — something that, like, an artist really poured their soul into and it also, like, it just took them years to create, also it was a uphill battle the full time — what if we took a moment from that and we sort of, like, recontextualized it?" He mentioned sarcastically.


"Like, does that make sense?" Firstman continued. "And we put a fully arbitrary meaning onto that thing that the artist loves so much? Sort of, like, degrading its entire value? I just think that would be, like, a fun, bitchy thing to do. I'm so bored… I just sort of wanna ruin someone's life today."


Firstman's video really resonated with Grande. And in a now-deleted Instagram Story, she shared how frustrating it might be as soon as people impersonate her on TikTok using sound bites of her character in Nickelodeon's Victorious. "Omg can this please also double as your impression of the pony tail tik tok females who think doing the cat valentine voice and that wearing winged eyeliner and also a sweatshirt is doing a good impersonation of me … cause this really how it feels," she wrote. "'Degrading [its] entire value' I screamed."


This isn't the initial time Grande has commented on other people's impressions of her. In November of last year, the pop star's TikTok doppelgänger Paige Niemann impersonated her using a Victorious sound bite, which is something she's done on her account several times. "Whyyy the cat voice / dialogue?" Grande tweeted. "I am sure she is the sweetest sweet sweetheart forreal !! Although it's [definitely] outlandish seeing people combination the two worlds lmao."


And immediately after seeing what the "7 Rings" posted yesterday to her IG Stories, Niemann hopped on Instagram Live to share her thoughts. "I'm used to Ariana shading me, so it's whichever she said. "I'm just here to entertain people."