Five short days ago, Ariana Grande revealed something big on Instagram. No, it wasn't an engagement ring, a forearm tattoo, or a new song — it was a haircut. The queen of pop music and shady tweets debuted the short new look (sans ponytail!) on her feed and it's since racked up almost five million likes. When we asked her hairstylist Josh Liu about the change he not only said it was legit (read: not a wig), but that it was for "a new project." It certainly sounded mysterious, but it's all making sense now. It appears to be a selfie snapped while filming her new "Thank U, Next" music video — and here's how fans figured it out.
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Yesterday morning, Grande started posting cryptic photos and Insta Stories hinting that she was filming a video inspired by Mean Girls. She then revealed to fans that this was only "25%" of the tea and that more clues would come later. By "later" she must've meant this morning, because she's since confirmed that the rumored visual component to her hit single won't just feature a callback to Mean Girls, but also to Legally Blonde and 13 Going On 30.
One clever fan put it all together with a side-by-side image comparing all of Grande's IG photos to screenshots from the suspected film references and it's since been shared all over the internet. There she is as Regina George, Elle Woods, and Jenna Rink — with the exact haircut.
Played by Jennifer Garner in the film, the teen turned 30-year-old magazine editor rocks a relaxed, yet equally iconic, shoulder-grazing cut for most of the movie. Now, so does Grande. In true form, Grande reposted the tweet to her Instagram Story, thus potentially confirming that, yep, the shorter style isn't a result of a broken engagement, but perhaps for a role in the video.
Sadly, since we figured out 75% of what the "Thank U, Next" music video will be about, it looks like Grande plans to keep the last quarter to herself... for now. But hey, at least now we know that she didn't cut her hair because of Maggie Rogers...