On top of the grief that comes from losing a loved one, Ariana Grande is also shielding herself from unwarranted blame after the death of her ex boyfriend Mac Miller. News of their split broke in May, with Grande later taking to Twitter to respond to those who were accusing her of abandoning Miller while he was struggling with substance abuse.
"I have cared for him and tried to support his sobriety & prayed for his balance for years (and always will of course) but shaming/blaming women for a man's inability to keep his shit together is a very major problem," she said, and now friend Shane Powers is also coming to her defense, saying on his podcast that there "could not have been anybody more supportive of him being sober than Ariana."
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"Ariana and him were together, and they were very much in love," he explained on The Shane Show. "And I have to say, she was incredible when he was first sobering up. She was a fucking G to him."
According to Powers, Grande "was deeply helpful and effective in keeping Mac sober and helping him get sober. And she was all about him being healthy, period, in this area of his life."
He also revealed that he "took phone calls from her. 'How do I help? What do I do?' This little girl was unbelievably involved and helpful to him being healthy. Because whether he [was] an addict or not, the way that Mac partied was not healthy."
Since Miller's death, the cause of which is still unconfirmed but is suspected to be an overdose, Grande has turned off her Instagram comments and posted a photo of Miller with no caption. His mother posted a similarly quiet but powerful tribute.
Listen to Powers' full podcast here.
If you are struggling with substance abuse, please call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free and confidential information.