Ariana Grande Asks Entertainment Companies to Add Therapy Sessions to Contracts

After being raised in the limelight, Ariana Grande asked music, TV, and film companies to offer mental health resources for young performers, along with requesting they offer weekly therapy sessions. Grande, who starred in Nickelodeon’s Victorious and spinoff series Sam & Cat, opened up about navigating fame as a teen and introducing contractual health resources to Marc Maron in a podcast episode released Monday.

“It’s so important that these record labels, these studios, these TV studios, these big production companies make it a part of the contract when you sign on to do something that’s going to change your life in that way, on that scale,” Grande said. “You need a therapist to be seeing several times a week.”

Grande, who starred on the children’s network and released her debut album, Yours Truly, in the early 2010s, also talked about how audiences critiqued her relationships, body image, and her team: “There was just no limit.”

“I was 19 when all of that nonsense started happening to me, and it’s just a crazy piece of the puzzle,” Grande told Maron. “It’s something you work so hard to try and understand, and it will never make sense to me.

Grande’s comments follow Chappell Roan‘s call-to-action for record labels earlier this month. Roan raised her healthcare concerns in the music industry as she accepted the Best New Artist Grammy, asking labels to offer a livable wage and healthcare, particularly to developing artists. The pop princess was dropped by Atlantic Records in summer 2020 and later signed with her producer Daniel Nigro’s Amusement Records, following the release of her debut album.

“If my label would have prioritized artists’ health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to,” Roan said. “So record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection. Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”

Since her Grammys appearance, Roan has donated $25,000 to Backline, a nonprofit that provides mental health and wellness resources to musicians. Charli XCX and Noah Kahan have pledged to match Roan’s donation. Grande added that labels know how a young star’s life will change and have the obligation to protect them.

“When these people are cast in these life-changing roles, or when they get that record deal, when they get that moment, that should be non-negotiable in the contract,” Grande told Maron. “Because to be an artist, you are a vulnerable person with your heart on your sleeve.”

From Rolling Stone US.