Ariana Grande has been at the centre of global conversation this week after displaying her alarmingly thin frame in the music video for Petal. The singer, 33, previously requested that fans do not comment on her body – with the Petal video ironically being a social commentary on the pressure to conform to Hollywood’s exacting beauty standards. However, many fans and prominent figures have felt compelled to speak out to express their genuine concern for Ariana’s health and wellbeing, with many citing Karen Carpenter as the reason. It’s been 43 years since Karen tragically succumbed to anorexia, dying from cardiac arrest at the age of 32 after the world slowly watched her deteriorate. Ignorance about eating disorders, pressure to maintain a wholesome family-friendly image, and denial by those around her have been blamed for Karen’s untimely death. Now fans fear that history could be repeating itself with Ariana, after her team publicly dismissed concerns about her frail appearance and insisted she is ‘happy and healthy’ despite her undeniable weight loss in recent years. The tragic parallels between late singer Karen Carpenter (left, in 1980) and Ariana Grande as fans fear history could repeat itself after seeing Ariana’s frail frame Both Ariana and Karen’s names began trending on social media after the release of Petal, with concerned fans begging Ariana’s team to take action. Shortly afterwards, her spokesperson announced that Ariana had pulled out of an upcoming West End role and was planning on taking a break from the spotlight amid struggles with ‘ongoing public scrutiny’ over her appearance.Neither Ariana or her team have explicitly addressed fans’ concerns that she is suffering from an eating disorder. Yet taking to X/Twitter, fans penned: ‘Hope Ariana Grande doesn’t end up becoming this era’s Karen Carpenter’;’feel bad about the Ariana stuff because it’s sort of snake eating its own tale, SUPERSTAR: THE KAREN CARPENTER STORY stuff. her body will be picked apart endlessly, under the guise of (not unfounded) concern’.;’We’re watching Karen Carpenter 2.0 and everyone’s too afraid of being “cancelled” to actually say the truth.’;’This generation should learn from what happened to Karen Carpenter and how it relates to Ariana Grande.’Karen’s tragic story has become a cautionary tale for how the public deals with eating disorder after she became the first celebrity figure to publicly die from the illness. While fans could see Karen’s shrinking frame and expressed concern after she frequently collapsed on stage, her condition was blamed on ‘exhaustion’. In 1981, when Karen weighed 91lb she was asked pointblank in a Nationwide TV-interview whether she had anorexia nervosa, to which she responded by saying she was ‘pooped’. Yet later that year she confided in her elder brother Richard about her struggle with food, telling him ‘I realise I’m sick and I need help.’ It was then that she began receiving treatment in New York by psychotherapist Steven Levenkron. Ariana has been at the centre of global conversation this week after displaying her alarmingly thin frame in the music video for Petal, with fans feeling compelled to speak out ‘Karen’s willingness to set aside the time and the money showed her initial level of commitment to the therapy,’ author Lucy O’Brien wrote in a biography titled Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter.’Her compulsive behaviors had developed over time, so [Steven] knew it would take a while to dislodge them. ‘At one of their early sessions he discussed with Karen what she was taking to expel food and she owned up, saying she could ingest more than 90 Dulcolax at once. Under his supervision, the aim was for her to cut down and eventually stop.’He then asked her if she had taken anything else and she admitted to taking 10 pills a day of Synthroid, a thyroid medication, which would have the effect of speeding up her metabolism. ‘Levenkron was horrified. Overdosage of thyroid medication could lead to coma, convulsions and heart attacks. “Give me the bottle,” he said. Karen handed it over and he locked it in his desk drawer.’By September 1982, Karen realised her heart was ‘beating funny’ and was admitted into intensive-care hospital Lenox Hill on the Upper East Side where she ‘weighed 77lbs and was severely dehydrated’.Karen had a life-threatening blood potassium level of 1.8 and her ‘digestive tract was so damaged she had to be fed by intravenous drip’.’Even though she had resisted gaining weight for a long time, once she was in hospital Karen allowed herself to be cared for. Over the next seven weeks she gained 20lbs, first from intravenous nutrition and then through eating small meals,’ Lucy wrote. ‘Karen began making plans for the next phase of her life, and on Oct. 28 in her hospital room she signed a petition for divorce [from Thomas James Burris, whom she married in 1980]. This was her statement of independence.’Karen weighed in at 100lb and concluded her therapy with Levenkron in November 1982 – three years shy of what he had recommended – and she presented him with a needlepoint canvas reading ‘YOU WIN — I GAIN’.However, years of malnourishment had taken their toll on Karen’s body and in February 1983, Karen tragically succumbed to her illness, dying from cardiac arrest.Two years later, the coroner told colleagues that Karen’s heart failure was caused by repeated use of ipecac syrup, an over-the-counter emetic drug often used to induce vomiting in cases of overdosing or poisoning. In 1981, when Karen weighed 91lbs she was asked pointblank whether she had anorexia nervosa. Later that year she confided in her elder brother Richard about her struggle with foodKaren’s death is widely considered to be the first celebrity casualty of an eating disorder. Yet after her passing other public figures shared their own struggles with anorexia and bulimia, most notably Princess Diana.Actress Jameela Jamil and model Charli Howard are also celebrities who have confessed to suffering from eating disorders – and they have been at the forefront of urging Ariana’s team to intervene amid concerns over her frame. Last week, Charli and Jameela divided fans after they made public posts about the singer’s shrinking frame. Posting screenshots of Ariana in the Petal video, Charli penned a lengthy post in which she claimed: ‘I think it’s vital we discuss imagery/videos/content like these and the damage they can – and will – have on women and girls. WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS NOT NORMAL. ‘Over the past few weeks, as images of Ariana’s concert get plastered around online, I obviously see comments from worried fans, but I also see other people convincing others that she looks ‘healthy’, or that she has simply ‘lost puppy fat’… ‘I think it is absolutely appalling, from both a moral and capitalistic standpoint, to have released these videos and an album when this person needs psychiatric help and hospitalisation. The teams involved should be absolutely ashamed.’In response, Jameela shared her agreeance, penning: ‘This poor woman is possibly dying right in front of us. This outfit is designed to accentuate the thinness for discourse.’Her team are thoroughly irresponsible for not guiding her away from this deeply damaging image for her young fans to see so glamorized.’While Jameela meant well amid fans’ genuine concern for Ariana, she was forced to clarify her comments after some social media users said she shouldn’t be commenting on women’s bodies. The Good Place star later went on to further explain the comments she had made as the backlash grew, saying she felt ‘extremely bad for Ariana having almost died of anorexia myself’. Model Charli Howard has confessed to suffering from eating disorders – and she has been at the forefront of urging Ariana’s team to intervene amid concerns over her frame In response, Jameela shared her agreeance, penning: ‘This poor woman is possibly dying right in front of us. This outfit is designed to accentuate the thinness for discourse’ Jameela later went on to further explain the comments she had made after receiving backlash, saying she felt ‘extremely bad for Ariana having almost died of anorexia myself’ She went on to post more on her Story as she spoke about how anorexia is the number one killer of any mental health disorder She penned on her Instagram Story to clarify her ‘dying right in front of us comment’: ‘I said possibly. My god. And my point stands, that this is deeply irresponsible for all the people involved to deliver this aesthetic as glamorous to the many billions of girls and women consuming this imagery.’Trying to use this as a b***h fight is DISGUSTING and missing the point. Making you part of the problem. I feel extremely bad for Ariana having almost died of anorexia myself. And it was only due to the people around me intervening INSENSITIVELY once I willfully ignored (and sort of enjoyed) their careful concern, that l survived. I don’t know Ariana and pray she recovers.’I don’t think she’s in the comments sections of tiny posts, but young girls watching are, and we need to signal to THEM that this is not the time to pretend this is ok, just because ‘we shouldn’t talk about other people’s bodies.”This is the same imagery we are allowed to respond to with sadness and horror when it’s on a child in Gaza. We do not pretend then that it is not appropriate to comment on how thin they are. We don’t have to pretend we are blind because it’s a pop star. Everyone is killing her by normalizing this.’Silence is complicity when it gets this far. Look at Karen Carpenter. ‘The accentuating of the thinness with the outfit, is how we can guess this is likely not some physical ailment. This is a statement. One that can harm little girls everywhere. Which I don’t think she would ever want for them. Are we waiting for a star to die before we admit the beauty standard is out of control?’Amid public discourse surrounding Ariana’s appearance and health, her spokesperson released a statement announcing the singer’s intent to step away from the spotlight. The spokesperson told PEOPLE: ‘Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour.’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.’A source close to the singer explained that Ariana’s tour involves a very physical and athletic performance which she performs at a healthy and high level. The Eternal Sunshine Tour wraps in London on September 1, at which point Ariana will retreat from the public eye. She had been due to star in the musical, Sunday In The Park with George, which would have seen her reunite with Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey, but she has since exited the project. The Wicked star is pictured in 2020 (left) and in her Petal music video (right)The following day, while on the latest leg of her tour, in Chicago, Illinois, Ariana insisted she had been planning the break for a ‘long time’, as she continued to brush off concerns about her health. ‘[The hiatus] was not a reactive or impulsive thing,’ she insisted. ‘It is something that I have decided, a plan that I had quietly made a long time ago and it’s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place. ‘And I want you to know that many things can be true at the same time.’I want to share this because I heard that my fans were worried that “negativity was ruining things for me” but I just have to say that could not be more the f*** opposite.’As the crowd roared, Ariana continued: ‘I promise you, this is not what that is. I just want to be very, very clear. Multiple things can be true at the same time. Yes, boundaries can need to be set. Human beings can need a break sometimes.’The two-time Grammy winner then declared that ‘no matter what noises exist out there, nothing will ever be able to distort my reality or be more real to me or louder to me than this love that we share in this room.’This is what I will always take with me and carry with me because the rest of that s**t is not mine to carry, so I don’t carry it. I need to get out here and differentiate that from my truth for you all because I love you.’If you are struggling with an eating disorder in the UK contact Beat on 0808 801 0677. In the US you can contact The National Eating Disorders Association at info@NationalEatingDisorders.org