Ariana Grande releases Petal visual and plans lawsuits against hackers
The pop star has released a graphic seven-minute music video while preparing to sue individuals responsible for leaking her private data and unreleased tracks.
Christian Breslauer directed the seven-minute short film, which begins with a parental advisory warning and introduces Grande as Pepper, an aspiring actress. The video serves as the visual launch for Petal, the title track of her latest album.
The narrative follows Pepper through a series of failed auditions. The plot takes a violent turn when a shadowy producer accuses the character of being "inauthentic," leading to a bloody sequence that evokes The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
This cinematic approach mirrors Breslauer’s previous collaboration with the singer. He also directed the visual for "Hate That I Made You Love Me," which featured actor Justin Long in an intense scenario involving digging a grave.
The video launch coincides with Grande’s first major concert tour in nearly seven years. The headlining run is designed to support multiple eras of her discography, including her pandemic-era album Positions and the Wicked-era record Eternal Sunshine.
The tour will conclude with a multi-night residency in London, anchoring a massive headlining run that also incorporates her newest material from Petal. The album itself was co-written and executive produced alongside Ilya, a collaborator from her 2014 hit "Problem."
Discussing the new record in a press release, Grande described it as “something that is full of life and growing through the cracks of something cold and hard and challenging.” This artistic output arrives alongside major commercial and legal maneuvers.
Once the London residency wraps up, the singer will shift her focus to intellectual property enforcement. Grande plans to track down and sue the hackers responsible for repeatedly leaking her unreleased music and private photographs, highlighting the ongoing financial and legal battles over digital rights in the music business.
With the album and its accompanying visual now available to the public, critical reception is actively being assessed through new reviews of the project. The combination of new music, an extensive international tour, and impending legal action marks a highly active period for the artist.
