Singer Ariana Grande opened up in a tearful interview about the Manchester attacks, saying how she's "permanently affected" by the terrible events.
Grande, 25, spoke with Ebro Darden on Beats 1 Radio on Friday, when she broke down in tears while discussing the severity of last year's terror attack, where 22 people, including children, died at her tour concert at Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017, after a bomb was detonated.
"Obviously [if you see it] on the news it affects you but not in the same way. You feel bad, you tweet it, you post a picture, you send your condolences, you say something and move on," Grande said in the interview.
As emotions begin to overwhelm Grande, she continues, "But then Christmas comes and you're thinking about it. It's like… [expletive], I'm so sorry," she says before momentarily pausing.
Fighting back the tears, Ariana continues: "It's like people are permanently affected by this [expletive] and it's just like, perspective. It changes everything, changes your life quite a bit. You want to be more present and follow happy impulses and figure it out later and stay in the moment."
Just a few weeks following the incident, Grande hosted the One Love Manchester concert where fellow musicians such as Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Liam Gallagher performed.
Explaining just how much the bombing has changed her outlook on life, Grande told Darden: "You try not to give into fear because obviously that's the whole point of being here. That's the whole point of finishing my tour is to set an example to my fans who are fearless enough to show up to the [expletive]ing shows. Like, are you kidding?
"You want to set the same example and keep going. You want to not be afraid because, of course, that's what they want if you give them that then they've won."
Of course since the incident, the "No Tears Left to Cry" singer has increased security around herself as well as at shows—concert attendees are no longer able to bring in large bags.
Grande added: "The truth is that it's [expletive]ing scary going anywhere and you look at places differently and travelling. I don't like to have security come with me everywhere, I don't like to do those things, it makes me feel [inhuman] and weird. I don't like it. I know people are just trying to take care of me but I want to escape with my friends, run around and be free. But you think about it differently when [expletive] like that happens."
Ariana continued: "I don't want to have metal detectors at my shows and having people taking tiny ass bags into my shows but, you'd better bring a [expletive]ing tiny ass bag, you know what I mean? It's scary and this is some real [expletive]. You don't want to give in and be afraid but it's still there."
Grande then apologized for "falling apart" and blamed the emotional moment on having just three hours of sleep, and then joked (albeit sarcastically), "Guys, I'm still a shiny pop star, I don't cry. I'm not human, just keep objectifying me.
"I'm still the robot you know and love, just leave me as the emotionless Ariana Grande with long ponytails who screams high notes. I'm still that, none of this ever happened. I'm going to demoralize you all."