Pop sensation Ariana Grande is one of this generation’s most popular music artists — so much so that she’s even got a viral copycat on TikTok, but it doesn’t look like she’s too fond of the copycat’s videos.
TikTok creator Paige Niemann went viral in late 2019 for a video where she dressed up as Ariana Grande, nearly becoming the spitting image of the singer with the same high ponytail, makeup, and mannerisms.
That’s not all; Niemann combined her makeover with audio from Grande’s performance as Cat Valentine in Nickelodeon show ‘Victorious,’ leading to a seriously uncanny resemblance of the pop star that took the internet by storm.
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While months have passed since the viral video was released, it doesn’t look like the buzz around the subject is easing off, with Grande giving a pointed reply to filmmaker Jordan Firstman.
In a video, Firstman hit out at content creators for making memes of moments that artists worked hard to create, giving them a spin that might undermine their efforts for a few laughs online.
“If we took a moment from that and we kind of like, re-contextualize it… we put a completely arbitrary meaning on to the thing the artist loves so much, [is] kind of like degrading its entire value,” Firstman explained.
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Grande commented on his thoughts in a now-deleted post via her Instagram story, where she seemed to agree with his stance and even compared it to her viral TikTok impersonator.
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“Can this please also double as your impression of the ponytail TikTok girls who think that doing the Cat Valentine voice and wearing winged eyeliner and a sweatshirt is doing a good impersonation of me?” she wrote.
“‘Cause that’s really how it feels… ‘degrading its entire value’ I screamed.”
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Needless to say, it doesn’t seem like Grande is cool with people impersonating her beloved character from Nickelodeon fame — having spoken out about it when TikTok initially went viral in November 2019.
i just wonder whyyyy the cat voice / dialogue. ? i am sure she is the sweetest sweet sweetheart forreal !! but it’s definitley bizarre seeing people blend the two worlds lmao.
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) November 24, 2019
Niemann has since replied to Grande’s thoughts on her lookalike videos, during a live stream as reported by BuzzFeed.
“I’m used to Ariana shading me, so it’s whatever,” she admitted. “I’m just here to entertain people. It’s not how I am in real life. It’s kind of why I’m not a fan of her anymore, honestly.”
With a slew of top TikTok stars having also experienced their own copycats in the past month, Grande’s message couldn’t come at a more appropriate time, with names like Charli D’Amelio and Nessa Barret likewise dealing with negative drama due to lookalikes.
