In a lengthy letter posted to Twitter on Tuesday night (Dec. 27), the “Dangerous Woman” singer described the uncomfortable encounter, which began when she went to pick up food with her boyfriend Mac Miller.
“A young boy followed us to the car to tell mac that he’s a big fan. He was loud and excited and by the time M was seated in the drivers seat he was literally almost in the car with us,” she wrote.
“I thought all of this was cute and exciting until he said “ariana is sexy as hell man i see you, i see you hitting that!!! *pause* Hitting that? the f—k??,” she recalled. “This may not seem like a big deal to some of you but I felt sick and objectified. I was also sitting right there when he said it. (?)”
Ariana revealed that she felt “really quiet and hurt” after the incident, and said these are the types of moments that “contribute to women’s sense of fear and inadequacy.”
“I am not a piece of meat that a man gets to utilize for his pleasure. I’m an adult human being in a relationship with a man who treats me with love and respect,” she continued. “It hurts my heart that so many young people are so comfortable enough using these phrases and objectifying women with such ease.”
The performer said she felt it was important to talk about the encounter because “most women know the sensation of being spoken about in an uncomfortable way publicly or taken advantage of publicly by a man,” and concluded the letter by encouraging other females to speak up about such experiences.
“We need to talk about these moments openly because they are harmful and they live on inside of us as shame. We need to share and be vocal when something makes us feel uncomfortable because if we don’t, it will just continue,” she declared. “We are not objects or prizes. We are QUEENS.” ~Shelby Morton
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— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) December 28, 2016