Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater Controversy

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Part of a series on Ariana Grande. [View Related Entries]

Overview

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater Controversy refers to internet discussions surrounding pop star Ariana Grande and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical lead actor Ethan Slater's relationship in July 2023. Grande and Slater reportedly met on the set of the musical fantasy film Wicked (set to release in 2024). After both Grande and Slater announced their separation from their respective spouses, various internet users began to discuss and make memes about Grande dating "live-action SpongeBob," Slater's decision to separate from his wife and newborn baby, and Grande's romantic history.

Background

On July 20th, 2023, TMZ^[1] published an article breaking the news of pop star singer Ariana Grande dating her "Wicked" costar Ethan Slater. Grande reportedly separated from her husband and real estate investor Dalton Gomez earlier in 2023, and Slater reportedly separated from his high school sweetheart Lilly Jay earlier in 2023 as well.

Twitter^[2] account @ThePopTingz posted an image of the couple from March 2023, gathering over 40,000 likes in a week (seen below).

Slater is best known for his leading role in the live-action Broadway musical The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage! in 2019 (seen below).^[3]

Developments

On July 20th, 2023, Twitter^[4] user @irees posted a series of screenshots (seen below) with the caption, "I'd vomit non-stop if I were the wife. This is Ariana Grande's new man Ethan Slater. He just had his kid last year with his wife he'd been together for TEN YEARS. / ARIANA GRANDE EVEN LIKED THESE PHOTOS. TMZ EXPLAIN!!!"

Also on July 20th, 2023, Twitter^[5] user @gracecamille_ posted a tweet that read, "Not this being Ariana Grande’s new bf lol," gathering over 50,000 likes in a week (seen below).

Grande's Relationship History

On July 20th, 2023, Twitter^[6] user @starsbIeedin posted a video outlining Ariana Grande's alleged history of cheating in or breaking up relationships. The video showed Ariana's tendency to go for men who are fresh out of relationships, such as Big Sean (who had just called off his engagement with Naya Rivera) and Pete Davidson (whose ex-girlfriend Cazzie David alleged that Pete dumped her for Ariana). The post gathered over 49,000 likes in a week (seen below).

Slater's Wife's Response

On July 27th, 2023, the Twitter account @PopBase shared a tweet citing Page Six,^[7] saying that Ethan Slater's estranged wife Lilly Jay has been “calling every news outlet” to get the story out surrounding Ariana Grande and Ethan. The tweet was quote-tweeted by @rudyIopez^[8] saying "we can tell." The tweet points to the widespread media coverage of the controversy, gathering over 120,000 likes in a day (seen below, left).

Also on July 27th, Twitter^[9] user @taylorgarron posted a tweet that read, "someone calling me 'not a girl’s girl' is my worst nightmare," gathering over 200,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).

Online Reactions

On July 22nd, 2023, Twitter^[10] user @ymmayer posted a tweet that read, "imagine dating an ugly ass man and being like well at least I know he won’t cheat on me then BOOM he’s fucking ariana grande," gathering over 240,000 likes in a week (seen below, left). On July 27th, Twitter^[11] user @user84829272 posted a tweet that read, "Ariana grande meeting that man’s wife and holding their baby etc while having an affair with him. You’d have to institutionalize me." The post gathered over 230,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).

On July 27th, Twitter^[12] user @MalikHaelstrom posted a tweet that read, "Me sitting in a room with my man and Ariana Grande," gathering 76,000 likes in a day (seen below, left). On July 28th, Twitter^[13] user @alexgrannelluno posted a tweet that read, "Irrefutable proof that you can pull anyone, including Ariana Grande, by being a quirked up white boy who loves talking heads," gathering 10,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).