Ryan Murphy is standing by Ariana Grande after she pulled out of plans to appear in American Horror Story.
Ryan Murphy has spoken out about Ariana Grande
The TV mogul had previously announced the singer/actress would be joining the cast of his long-running horror series but she had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with her Eternal Sunshine tour – but Murphy is holding onto his ideas for her and hopes he will be able to bring her onboard for a future season of the show.
Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter: “I love Ariana Grande. We’re great friends. I had an idea and I came to her and she, very immediately, said: ‘I’m not sure because I think I’m going on tour.’
“I don’t think the tour had been announced, and she had obviously just finished the Wicked movie. So when it came time to do that episode, I called her up and she was like: ‘I don’t know how I’m going to juggle the tour with this.’
“And I said: ‘OK, if you can’t, we can push to another season.’ She said: ‘Great’.”
Murphy went on to insist her exit was due to her busy schedule and had nothing to do with her decision to take a step back from showbusiness.
He added: “You have to be respectful. Who is busier than Ariana Grande? No one. She had told me at the time: ‘I have this album that’s dropping.’
“It was really, truly a scheduling conflict. I said: ‘OK, we’ll kick that can down the road,’ and she said: ‘Great.'”
He went on to say of the singer: “|Ariana is a big fan of horror. She’s obviously done homages of that in her work; she did Scream Queens for me and loved the experience, and people love her in that show. So I will always work with her.
“I love her, and I support her. It was a very big swing, but I might bring that back for another season, per Ariana’s availability. I think the world of her.”
Muprhy’s comments come after the pop star confirmed she would be taking a break from work after she finishes her tour and has dropped out of plans to appear in a play in London.
A spokesperson for the singer said: “She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny.
“This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”
