"Ethan actually took her phone and typed this"— Internet reacts to Ariana Grande calling The Weeknd a "friend" in thank you message

Ariana Grande recently took to Instagram to respond to The Weeknd, who congratulated her on her latest film, Wicked, by referring to him as a "friend."

On December 5, 2024, The Weeknd praised Grande for the success of her latest musical drama and her performance in it. He wrote on his Instagram story:

"This was fantastic. Congrats @arianagrande so proud."

Ariana Grande reposted the Canadian singer's post and wrote:

"Thank you, my friend."

Fans quickly took to X to react to Grande's post, with many joking about her supposedly "friendzoning" The Weeknd. One X user quipped that Grande's alleged boyfriend, Ethan Slater, wrote the message:

"Ethan actually took her phone and typed this wbk."

Other fans echoed similar sentiments on the social media platform.

"she's seen the work husband jokes," another user joked.

"the comma between thank you and my friend is what's taking me out," another netizen chimed in.

"t's a Wicked reference," another X user claimed.

Many speculated about Grande and Weeknd's relationship:

"They are literally friends, yall weird," a user opined.

"joint album NOW pls," a fan requested.

"abel and ariana will NEVER happen!," a user joined in.

Some users even shipped the two singers together:

"i don’t usually ship real life people together but please, they’d be such an iconic and hot couple," a fan commented.

"we all know half tracks of Dawn FM are dedicated to her specially i heard your married girl," a netizen alleged.

"that's how i talk to that one guy friend of mine who secretly likes me," an X user wrote.

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Ariana Grande's collaborations with The Weeknd explored

Ariana Grande and The Weeknd at 2014 American Music Awards - Show (Image via Getty)

Ariana Grande and The Weeknd (originally named Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) have been good friends for years. The two artists have collaborated four times in their careers, with the first coming ten years ago in 2014.

Tesfaye's first collaboration with Grande was Love Me Harder, the fourth single from Grande's second studio album, My Everything (2014). The lyrics were co-penned by The Weeknd, and the song peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was The Weeknd's first top-ten song in the United States.

The two once again collaborated for the 2020 track Off The Table, featured on Grande's 2020 album, Positions. A live performance of the track was also released in 2021. The track is an R&B-style romantic ballad that explores rekindling a romantic relationship.

Grande's third collaboration with The Weeknd came with Save Your Tears (Remix) in 2021. The original track was a part of Weeknd's 2020 album, After Hours. Ahead of the remix release, both Ari and The Weeknd shared a snippet on their social media accounts, evoking curiosity about a new release. The song dropped a week later.

The Die For You remix in 2023 is Ariana Grande and The Weeknd's most recent collaboration. The original song was released seven years ago in 2016. As reported by Billboard, Grande recorded her verse for the remix version while filming for Wicked. The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 list. Talking about the collaboration at that time, Ari shared on TikTok:

"Wrote and recorded a verse for my friend after a 14 hour day on set. This certain exception had to be made….”

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Ariana Grande had a successful 2024, receiving positive reviews for her performance in the musical drama Wicked. She also released her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, in March this year.