10 Strict Rules Ariana Grande Reportedly Makes Her Staff And Assistants Follow
Grande has allegedly made quite a few demands of her staff.
Tinseltown / Shutterstock Celebrities have the most glamourous lives, and most of us are probably envious of their upscale living.
From Broadway to Nickelodeon to becoming one of the best-selling music artists in the world, Ariana Grande has certainly made a name for herself. But behind the scenes are loads of assistants and staff that make her life run seamlessly.
And while working for the pop star might come with its own set of benefits, what is it like to work for the "7 Rings" singer in real life?
Here are 10 strict rules Ariana Grande allegedly makes her staff and assistants follow
1. She reportedly wants to be carried everywhere
When she’s tired, Grande reportedly demands to be carried by her staff.
“Her new rule is that she has to be carried — literally carried like a baby — when she doesn’t feel like walking," a source revealed to Life & Style, adding that they saw her being carried by her staff while she was filming for a music video back in 2014, and at rehearsals for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
"She says that she doesn’t want her precious feet to hit the floor," they added, before quipping that she's "such a diva."
2. She allegedly demands her assistants follow her around with water
Grande allegedly doesn’t want to stay thirsty even for a moment, and makes her assistants follow her around carrying water.
“She had an assistant follow her around with a bottle of water and a straw. And as soon as she was feeling a bit parched, she would scream, 'Water!' and the girl would scurry over," a source told Star Magazine.
She even reportedly displayed some "diva" behavior at BBC 1’s teen awards back in 2014. "At one point, the water was too warm for her liking, so she spit it out!” the source alleged.
3. Assistants have to prepare a plant-based diet for her
Grande has been vegan since 2013 due to her love of animals, and ever since, her assistants have had to prepare her meals accordingly.
She told The Mirror, “I am a firm believer in eating a full plant-based, whole food diet that can expand your life length and make you an all-round happier person. It is tricky dining out, but I just stick to what I know — veggies, fruit and salad. Then when I get home I’ll have something else.”
Grande is also reportedly a fan of smoothies. According to her trainer, Harley Pasternak, "She makes a lot of my smoothies, so for the body-reset smoothies she'll make the white smoothie, red smoothie, and green smoothie."
4. She requires strawberries and other berries as part of her diet
In addition to following a plant-based, vegan diet, Grande is a huge fan of berries, but especially strawberries. Any staff members that are in charge of her diet prepare strawberries.
According to Grande herself, "I've had at least five strawberries a day since I can remember. They're my favorite food!" she posted in a now-deleted tweet, according to Women’s Health.
In the past, Grande also posted photos on her Instagram of fresh blueberries, and is said to always go for fruit when she gets hungry between meals.
5. Her staff take care of her pets
The “thank u, next” singer is a huge animal lover and has numerous dogs as her pets. She has nine dogs of all different mixes and breeds — Coco, Cinnamon, Strauss, Lafayette, Toulouse, Myron, Snape, Pignoli, and Lily.
Her dogs are dear to her and she wants them to be treated right by the people who work for her. She even flies them with her on a private jet.
In 2019, Grande had been visiting Glasgow, Scotland as part of her work schedule and allegedly requested her dogs to be flown there as well.
“The dogs, who have been assigned their own room at the two-bedroom apartment, were well looked after by a minder during their stay,” a source told The Sun. "As well as being offered personalized bone-shaped dog biscuits and furry bedding, they even got given tartan dog collars.”
6. Grande will allegedly only show the left side of her face on camera
Whenever on camera, Grande reportedly demands that only the left side of her face is captured.
Back in 2014, some of Grande's photoshoots in Australia had been canceled. Grande's team had allegedly directed photographer Chris Pavlich to only shoot from the singer’s left side and to use no natural light. Since her demands weren’t met, Grande reportedly canceled the shoot.
According to the source, Grande left the photoshoot "after [only] a few minutes," claiming her outfit didn't photograph well in the images. Grande had also allegedly been "checking each frame after it was taken and asking for shots she wasn't pleased with to be deleted."
In 2014, TV personality and reporter Giuliana Rancic claimed that Grande was difficult to work with. At the American Music Awards that year, Rancic said that Grande's team made Rancic switch sides so Grande could be filmed from her left side.
"She came up on the platform, and normally I stand on this side [her left side] to the camera. I had to fight 13 years to get this side to the camera, it's my good side, but I fought 13 years for this, OK? Little Ariana comes over, I feel like 'bing', elbow in my side, I'm like, 'What's going on?' and they push me to the other side," she said.
“I feel like where there is smoke, there is fire,” Rancic added about her red carpet interview, alleging that Grande’s team bullied and elbowed her to change positions. “It was like you either get on the other side or we don’t do an interview.”
7. Grande reportedly approves all fan photos, and staff must enforce it
While many celebrities and their publicists work hard to control their image, Grande allegedly takes it a step further in her interactions with fans.
In a first-hand account of an interaction with Grande, the mother of a 17-year-old named Jen, and her older sister Kelly, who had won a contest with MTV to meet Grande, alleged that the "Bang Bang" singer was not only rude, but demanded they delete certain photos of her.
The mother of the teen said: "Jen, whom Ari had been so kind to in 2011, walked up and said, 'Ari, here’s a photo we took together in Vegas at the Titanic...' Ms. Grande glanced at the photo on Jen’s phone and said, 'Let’s redo that picture.'
She said nothing else, so Jen retook the photo... Then Jen took out one of the drawings that won the contest for her. Kelly snapped a photo of her smiling little sister giving Ariana the drawing.
'Delete those pictures, please,' was all Ariana said.
'Can I just keep the one of my sister showing you the drawing?' asked Kel.
Ariana turned to her security and ordered, 'Make sure she deleted those.' Then, Ariana Grande walked away from her prize-winning fans without even saying goodbye."
8. Staff reportedly ensure she has the biggest dressing room
While working on Nickelodeon's "Victorious," Grande allegedly had the second largest dressing room after the main character, played by actress Victoria Justice. Since Grande has skyrocketed to fame, she's demanded the largest dressing room possible.
Staff allegedly enter the room beforehand to make sure everything is up to par and all her favorite things are there, stocking it with the food and drinks she requires. Grande loves Cocoa Puffs as well, so staff must make sure there's a box on hand just in case she wants to indulge.
Additionally, in 2014, Grande reportedly turned a conference room into a dressing room for herself, and demanded the hotel be cleared out before her arrival.
According to an insider source, "Before she got there she made security clear out the entire lobby. Even if you were a guest at the hotel you had to clear out. No one could sit in the lobby, but she came in the back... She took up a unisex bathroom... and put two bodyguards outside... Basically, 3,000 square feet of hotel space was hers; you had to show your hotel key to get anywhere.”
Of course, it's normal for celebrities to have specific demands and requests of what they want in their dressing room, even if they are a bit out there.
9. She allegedly won't allow anyone to mention Mariah Carey around her
There are certain off-limits topics for Grande that her staff and assistants allegedly enforce, one of which being that she won't tolerate Mariah Carey being brought up in any interviews. While Grande has said in that past that she takes it as a "huge compliment" being compared to Carey, it's not the only topic that's a big no-no.
Other supposedly off-limits conversations include her past relationships, her grandfather who passed away in 2014, or her time on "Sam & Cat," particularly about her former co-star Jennette McCurdy.
10. She supposedly demands special treatment at amusement parks
With fame and status comes the entitlement to expect A-list treatment. And according to Universal and Disney Park employees themselves, Grande demands special treatment, most likely enforced by her assistants and staff as well.
Amusement park staff have described her as the "most disrespectful" and "rudest" celebrity they've ever encountered.
Grande allegedly forced visitors and park guests to leave the rides and attractions so she could experience them solo, alongside her security and posse. "Plaids," as they are known, assist guests on a VIP guided tour around the park, including letting them bypass long lines on rides.
But Grande reportedly cuts the lines and shuts the entire thing down so she can ride the attractions all by herself, causing hours of delays.
Sanika Nalgirkar, M.F.A. is a writer and freelance editor who covers entertainment and news, lifestyle, and pop culture topics.