Ariana Grande has pulled out of the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live's 44th season, due to air tonight (September 29).
The show's boss, Lorne Michaels, explained on the Origins with James Andrew Miller podcast, which was recorded earlier this month, that the singer had cancelled her scheduled appearance.
"We had Ariana drop out for emotional reasons two days ago," he said. "And then Kanye [West] stepped up. He'll be there."
Michaels did not add more, but Ariana has recently taken a step back from the spotlight, with her team sharing that she's "going to take some much needed time to heal and mend" in a statement confirming she would be missing the Emmy Awards earlier this month.
"Contrary to reports, Ariana will not be attending the Emmys tonight," Ariana's team said at the time. "Pete has also opted to not attend to be with her in New York. Given the events of the past couple of years, Ariana is going to take some much needed time to heal and mend.
"She will be staying close to home and using this period to spend time with her loved ones and work on new music without deadline. She thanks her fans for their understanding."
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Earlier this week, Ariana tweeted that she was "so tired" and just wants "one okay day".
Recently, the 'No Tears Left to Cry' singer admitted that she was coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after last year's terror attack at her concert in Manchester.
Her former boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller, was also recently found dead at the age of 26.
She paid tribute to him on social media, with an Instagram post reading: "I can't believe you aren't here anymore. I really can't wrap my head around it. We talked about this. So many times. I'm so mad, I'm so sad I don't know what to do. You were my dearest friend."
Tonight's Saturday Night Live will hosted by Adam Driver of Star Wars: The Last Jedi fame, with Kanye West appearing as the musical guest.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
