How did 2017 Manchester suicide bombing affect Ariana Grande's mental health? Singer gave away $1M worth of therapy to fans

Ariana Grande was present at the Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017, where she was about to do a show as part of her Dangerous Woman world tour. That's when a bomb exploded on the venue, taking 22 lives and injuring many others who had arrived to watch Grande perform live.

The Positions singer, who was clearly shaken by the incident, shared condolences for the victims on X in a since-deleted tweet. She wrote in her May 25 post:

"I am sorry for the pain and fear that you must be feeling and for the trauma that you, too, must be experiencing."

Opening about the toll the tragic accident had taken on her mental health in a July 2018 Elle Interview, Ariana Grande revealed:

"When I got home from tour, I had really wild dizzy spells, this feeling like I couldn’t breathe. I would be in a good mood, fine and happy, and they would hit me out of nowhere."

Further explaining how she had always struggled with anxiety, Ariana spoke:

"I’ve always had anxiety, but it had never been physical before. There were a couple of months straight where I felt so upside down."

Three years later, Billboard reported on 29 June that the singer-songwriter teamed up with Better Help to give away free therapy worth $1 million to her fans in June 2021.

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Ariana Grande flew to her grandmother immediately after the Manchester bombing

In a TIME interview in May 2018, Ariana Grande opened up about the aftermath of the 2017 Manchester bombing on her mental health. When the subject of the attack came up, the singer-songwriter was choked with tears, but started to speak about it after a minute, saying:

"There are so many people who have suffered such loss and pain. The processing part is going to take forever."

Grande added how her own grief felt both "enormous and insignificant" in face of it all. She then explained how and why she didn't want to talk more about it, as that would give it more power, further saying:

"That’s why I did my best to react the way I did. The last thing I would ever want is for my fans to see something like that happen and think it won."

What shocked Ari the most about the attack was that it made music appear unsafe. According to her, music was supposed to be the safest thing in the world. The 7 Rings singer noted:

"I wish there was more that I could fix. You think with time it’ll become easier to talk about. Or you’ll make peace with it. But every day I wait for that peace to come and it’s still very painful."

Scooter Braun, Ariana Grande's manager, who was also part of the TIME interview revealed what led to the cancelation of the rest of her tour after the bombing. He said:

“I said, ‘We need to get a concert and get back out there.’ She looked at me like I was insane. She said, ‘I can never sing these songs again. I can’t put on these outfits. Don’t put me in this position.’”

Two days later, Grande reached out to Braun, saying:

“If I don’t do something, these people died in vain.”

Ariana Grande's resolve led to the One Love Manchester benefit concert. Many other celebrities, including Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Coldplay, joined Ari in an effort to raise money to help the families of the bombing victims. The concert was broadcast live on British TV. It managed to raise over $12M in the end, with over 50,000 attendees turning up.

Braun also shared how the Side to Side singer set to help people the moment they landed in Manchester. She went to the hospital to sit with the survivors and met with the families of the deceased, offering words of consolation.

After the concert, Ariana Grande was named as an honorary citizen of the Manchester city. The city's council leader, Sir Richard Leese, praised her for her "great many selfless acts and demonstrations of community spirit."

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Grande wanted her fans to "feel okay asking for help" when she gave away $1M worth of therapy for free

In June 2021, when Ariana Grande joined hands with Better Help, she coupled her announcement with a lengthy caption on Instagram. According to the Billboard, the caption of the since-deleted post read:

“While acknowledging that therapy should not be for a privileged few but something everyone has access to, and acknowledging that this doesn’t fix that issue in the long run, i really wanted to do this anyway in hopes of inspiring you to dip a toe in, to feel okay asking for help, and to hopefully rid your minds of any sort of self judgement in doing so!”

Grande's announcement also stated that fans who signed up for the offer would receive free therapy for a month, and a 15% discount from Better Help if they chose to renew it for a second month.