Ariana Grande thanks 'friends' Botox and Juvéderm for rising star award at age 31

Ariana Grande received the rising star award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, quipping that after a lifetime of performing, she has her “two friends Botox and Juvéderm” to thank. 

"I've been performing since I was a child, so I never thought at the age of 31 I would be hearing the words 'rising star' again,” Grande said. “I thought I'd be hearing 'slightly withering star' or 'drooping star' by now.” 

The “Wicked” star told Entertainment Tonight later on the red carpet that although she hasn’t had Botox or fillers for four years, she would be open about it when she starts using them again. 

“As the founder of r.e.m. beauty, I think it’s important to have transparency,” Grande told ET. “But I love it and I support it. But I am still four years clean. You see the lines? I love them.”

"American Pie" and "White Lotus" actor Jennifer Coolidge presented Grande with the award, joking that Grande is actually a really old person, "maybe 90, who knows," but she just has great skin.

"Hasn't Ariana Grande already risen?" Coolidge said of the Grammy-winning performer who gained early fame as a Disney actor. "The girl's barely 30 and it feels like she's been famous since the Eisenhower administration."

It’s not the first time Grande has talked candidly about cosmetic work and public scrutiny over her appearance – in a Vanity Fair lie detector test with her “Wicked” costar Cynthia Erivo, Grande was asked whether she’d ever gotten work done to make herself “feel more popular.” 

“This is the best day of my life,” Grande said at the opportunity to clear up that she’s only had Botox and fillers but is “open” to a facelift. “Take that you YouTube people!”

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Ariana Grande credits ‘Wicked’ role, director Jon Chu in speech

The singer was in a light-hearted mood at the event – as Coolidge presented her the award, Grande pretended to fall over, weighed down by the massive trophy.

She opened her speech by thanking Coolidge, who she has frequently impersonated on Saturday Night Live and late night talk shows. Coolidge herself has credited Grande for a resurgence in her career,elevating her to cult status for her roles in “Legally Blonde” and the newer “White Lotus.” In 2019, Grande featured Coolidge in her music video “thank u, next.” 

“Your comedic genius and brilliance has inspired me my entire life,” she told Coolidge onstage. 

Grande also thanked “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu – “our incredible fearless leader” – and said the award felt like a celebration for both Grande and her Ozian character Glinda. 

“I learned early on that laughter was one of our greatest escapes, and I remember the infectious impact that it had not only on the people in my life but how it fed me in return. And over the past 10 years, when I was solely focused on music, I really missed that feeling,” she said. 

“Though Glinda the Good is full of frivolous humor and witty punch lines, comedy is just another way of telling the truth. She has an innate ability to make light out of darkness and to bring levity wherever she goes even when there's pain.”