Ariana Grande is asking studios to add a special requirement in contracts for younger actors

Wicked star Ariana Grande has recently shared her views about a specific requirement in contracts for young creatives. During her appearance on comedian Marc Maron's WTF podcast, she championed the need for therapy for young artists, whether in the field of movies or music. She believes that studios and labels should make it a part of their contracts.

Now a Grammy-winning pop star with an Oscar nomination, Ariana Grande began her journey as a child performer in Nickelodeon's Victorious. During her podcast interview with Maron, she opened up about her past struggles and spoke candidly about the need for mental health support, especially for younger creatives.

"You need a therapist to be seeing several times a week."

She further added,

"When these people are cast in these life-changing roles, or when they get that record deal, when they get that moment, that should be non-negotiable in the contract. Because to be an artist, you are a vulnerable person with your heart on your sleeve … So the same person who is meant to do art is the exact same person who is not meant to deal with that sh*t.”

Ariana Grande advocates for regular mental health check-ups for younger creatives

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Ariana Grande has had a long career before being Glinda in Jon M. Chu's Wicked. One of her earliest roles was in a 2010 Nickelodeon show when she was quite young. So, as a person in the spotlight, she had to navigate her way through the public scrutiny. When speaking on this subject, the pop star said,

“I was 19 when all of that nonsense started happening to me, and it’s just a crazy piece of the puzzle. It’s something you work so hard to try and understand, and it will never make sense to me. I just love art and that’s all I care about, so it’s just weird that that’s a part of it … It started when I was so young with my body or rumors about my relationships or about my team or about my mom or about people I love. There was just no limit.”

Ariana Grande firmly believes that artists need a therapist to navigate their intense creative process.

“It’s so important that these record labels, these studios, these TV studios, these big production companies make it a part of the contract when you sign on to do something that’s going to change your life in that way, on that scale"

While speaking about her own therapist, Ariana Grande further added,