Ariana Grande released her highly anticipated new Thank U, Next album today, and her new video for “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” is making quite the splash: As of this post, it’s the No. 1 trending video on YouTube. The clip also features a surprise ending: Throughout the video, Grande is attempting to seduce a man who is with somebody else, but at the end of the clip, she goes in for a kiss with his girlfriend, although the video ends before any kiss actually happens.
The video and this moment in particular have drawn a mixed bag of reactions online (as Buzzfeed notes). Some fans have praised the song as a “bisexual anthem”:
https://twitter.com/tooodamnneedy/status/1093745842840842241
bitch, break up with your girlfriend i'm bored is a HIT and a bi anthem don't @ me
— ✨ B. (@90smusichoe) February 8, 2019
Meanwhile, others believe the song is actually about the self-love Grande brought up in “Thank U, Next,” when she sang about meeting someone else named “Ari” (aka herself), because the woman looks so much like Grande.
https://twitter.com/ParamoreStreet/status/1093783759147753472
I finally understood the meaning of break up with you girlfriend, I’m bored music video. it’s about self love. shes better off dating herself and loving herself more then being with a guy.
— . (@remarchive) February 8, 2019
Not all the responses have been positive, though. Some Twitter users are accusing Grande of queerbaiting, which has been defined as “attempting to attract an LGBT audience by hinting at same-sex relationships between characters, though they’re never actually consummated.”
if ariana isn’t bisexual and just kissed a girl in break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored, then i’ll have to unstan. sorry sis it’s 2019 and i won’t accept queer baiting in this bisexual girl’s house. thank u, next 💋
— Min (@min6si) February 8, 2019
straight women !! need to fucking stop making girls kissing girls something edgy and cool !! straight girls get PRAISED for kissing other straight girls but real wlw get the harassment that comes with homophobia. queerbaiting is disgusting and i am getting TIRED of miss ariana
— zana (@sweetlyjongdae) February 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/toduvuki/status/1093763508242534401
This isn’t the first time in recent days that Grande has faced criticism for a video: After she shared the clip for “7 Rings,” she apologized because the song was accused of cultural appropriation.
Thank U, Next is out now via Republic. Get it here.
