Ariana Grande “cried for days” after the horrific terror attack following her concert in Manchester Arena last May, her manager Scooter Braun has revealed.
The 24-year-old singer had just left the stage inside the English venue when a suicide bomber let off an explosion in the foyer, killing 22 people and himself. Following the incident, Ariana visited those injured in hospital, and her manager Scooter opened up in an interview on the Big Questions with New York Times writer Cal Fussman’s podcast about just how affected the One Last Time singer was by the attack.
“When she found out that fans of hers had died she was so sad,” Scooter said. “She cried for days, she felt everything – every face they announced, every name, she wore on her sleeve. Every bit of emotion because that’s who she is.”
The visit to the Royal Manchester Children’s hospital was a tough ask for Ariana, who relied on the support of Scooter to help her through what he described as the “hardest two hours of either of our lives”.
“After the first family I had to help her, she was distraught and I was lost. It was beyond tough. But every single time we got down we reminded each other we get to go home,” he explained. “Our loved ones are still going to be there. That mother is never coming home, that daughter is never coming home, that son is never coming home, that dad is never coming home.”
Following the terror attack, Ariana made the decision to continue on her Dangerous Woman Tour. And doing so was as much for the victims of the attack as it was for Ariana.
“We didn’t have the right to be so sad we couldn’t continue. The terrorist made a mistake” they picked the wrong goddamn show,” Scooter continued. “Because if they thought we were going to roll over they don’t know Ariana and they don’t know me.”