Ariana Grande Dropped out of ‘Saturday Night Live’ Season Premiere

Ariana Grande was reportedly scheduled to perform as the musical guest during Saturday Night Live‘s Season 44 premiere on Saturday, Sept. 29, but dropped out this week, the show’s creator Lorne Michaels revealed.

“We had Ariana drop out for emotional reasons two days ago,” Michaels said during the Origins With James Andrew Miller podcast. “That’s our premiere, and then Kanye [West] stepped up, and he’ll be there. So, the reach of the show and the number of people who will step forward is now somehow now, I think, probably at its peak.”

West will perform as musical guest in Grande’s place and Saturday’s episode of the series, which features Grande’s fiancé Pete Davidson as a cast member. The episode will be hosted by actor Adam Driver.

Grande recently sparked fans’ concern after she tweeted a series of messages, some of which have since been deleted, addressing her current state.

“Can I pls have one okay day. just one. pls,” she wrote on Thursday. “I’m so tired pls. … ty for loving me sm i do not deserve it.”

She also retweeted a previous message she had written that read “Everything will be okay,” adding on Thursday, “j f—ing k.”

After fans expressed their worry, the “God Is a Woman” singer wrote that she regrets her initial tweets.

“ur angels in my life. it’s just been a tough month,” she told one fan. “i’m trying to get my work done and get back to normal and it’s hard and i’m human and tired. sorry i let u in or worried u. i shouldn’t have tweeted. i kno better.”

In another tweet, she explained that she “had a human moment.”

“ily more i’m so sorry for yesterday yikes,” she wrote to a fan on Friday. “i love u and never want u to worry ab me or think i want attention sksksjsjs i have way too much as it is w/o askin. jus had a human moment and wanted to confide. u know how much i love you. on some real life shit. and yeah. sry & ily.”

On Sept. 17, Grande and Davidson did not attend the Emmy Awards, and the singer’s team revealed that she would be taking some time out of the public eye.

“Given the events of the past couple of years, Ariana is going to take some much needed time to heal and mend,” Grande’s team said, via Entertainment Tonight. “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.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Jeff Kravitz