Ariana Grande advocates for therapy in record and film contracts for young artistes

Ariana Grande, who rose to fame as a teenager on Nickelodeon’s Victorious and Sam & Cat, recently advocated for entertainment companies to prioritise the mental well-being of young artistes. In a recent podcast interview, Ariana opened up about the challenges of navigating fame from a young age and advocated for contractual mental health resources, including weekly therapy sessions.

Ariana described the intense scrutiny she faced, particularly concerning her body image and relationships, starting when she was just 19. “It started when I was so young with my body or rumours about my relationships or about my team or about my mom or about people I love. There was just no limit,” she shared.

She also emphasised the negative impact of fame on young people and the crucial need for mental health support. “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. You need a therapist to be seeing several times a week,” Ariana asserted.

She added that she believes that mental health support should be a non-negotiable part of any contract that drastically alters a young artiste’s life. “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. Because to be an artiste, you are a vulnerable person with your heart on your sleeve … So the same person who is meant to do art is the exact same person who is not meant to deal with that s***,” she concluded.

Ariana's advocacy echoes Chappell Roan's recent call for better healthcare within the music industry. Chappell, while accepting a Grammy, urged record labels to provide a liveable wage, healthcare, and protection for developing artistes, drawing from her own experience of being dropped by Atlantic Records and later signing with her producer's label.

“If my label would have prioritised artistes’ health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to,” she stated, echoing Ariana's sentiments about the vulnerability of artists and the responsibility of the industry to support their well-being.