I can’t quite believe I’m writing this, but there is currently some confusion online as to whether Ariana Grande may have had her memories erased.
In case you’ve missed the discourse, a video of Ariana chatting with Variety on the red carpet at the Oscars on Sunday is garnering a lot of attention due to her comments about “memory erasure treatment.” Without any added context, the clip circulating shows Ari saying to the reporter, “They did the Brighter Days memory erasure treatment to me, so I’m having trouble remembering the details.” She adds that her memories are “foggy” and that she might have to “go back to the clinic” to “see if they can restore” them.
With the internet being the bizarre place that it is, the clip has been widely shared without any additional context, and it’s left some social media users totally convinced that Ariana may have just accidentally exposed some kind of wild celebrity secret. “Did Ariana Grande just admit that she’s going to a clinic — some Hollywood, celebrity clinic — that erases her memories?” one seemingly perplexed TikTok user hypothesized in a video with nearly 2 million views. “I mean, that seems, like, concerning… Honestly, I just hope she’s ok,” they added.
Unfortunately, some groups on the internet seem to be buying into all the speculation, probably envisioning something out of the Men In Black movies. However, I’m pleased to say that others have shown a little more critical thinking. So, without further ado, here’s what Ari was actually talking about.
In the full clip of Ariana on the red carpet, the Variety reporter asks her to reveal details about the deluxe edition of her 2024 album, Eternal Sunshine. But being the media-trained jokester she is, Ari decides to dodge the question by giving a tongue-in-cheek answer about “the Brighter Days memory erasure treatment” — which is the premise of one of her music videos and, most crucially, not a real thing.
If the name wasn’t enough of a giveaway, Ari’s album — which she recorded after her 2023 divorce from Dalton Gomez — took inspiration from the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in which a couple, played by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, decide to have each other erased from their memories after their relationship turns sour. Paying direct homage to the film in the emotional music video for her single “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love),” Ari visits the “Brighter Days” clinic to erase her memories of a past lover. (Again, just emphasizing that this is fictional and not a real thing).
So, in the red carpet interview, Ariana was simply making a clever reference to her music video while teasing the release of the Eternal Sunshine deluxe album. No creepy memory-erasing or brainwashing to see here. I’m all for a conspiracy theory every now and again, but come on, people… you can do better than this.
