Who are Shay and Bria? TikTok duo's mother, Aunt D defends Ariana Grande against negative comments

Popular TikToker sisters Shay and Bria’s mother, Aunt D, came in defense of Ariana Grande. As understood from the viral video Aunt D posted, the singer and actress was the subject of online bullying, which agitated the TikToker’s mother. She said:

“Ariana Grande is a beautiful, sweet, sweet person. You don't know nothing about her, nothing she done been through in Jesus' name. So don't you judge her. It's because she's small. You don't know what her circumstance is. It's because the lady got some money. It don't matter what kind of money you got.”

Shay, 29, is an autistic woman, and she often creates content with her non-verbal autistic sister, Bria, 28. Shay gained online fame after her video about being lightly hurt by her sister while wearing an Ariana Grande shirt went viral.

The incident happened in October 2024. In the video posted by Aunt D, Shay mentions that Bria had hurt her when she wore the shirt. As their mother tried to calm them and get Bria to eat a McDonald's biscuit, Shay reacted by telling Bria to sit down, which caused Bria to wave her arms.

Shay then suggested finding a doctor for Bria. Ariana Grande sent them a heartfelt message and a care package in November 2024. The message, which was a recorded video, saw the actress saying:

“Hi, Shay. I love you so much. Your videos make me so happy. I sent you something. You should be getting it. I don’t know where it is but it should be coming to you.”

The sisters had an encounter with Grande on February 6, 2025.

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Ariana Grande had previously addressed the negative comments in a TikTok video

In 2023, Ariana Grande shared a TikTok video discussing the negative comments about her body. She said she didn’t like talking about it as she was uncomfortable. Grande emphasized that people should be ‘gentler’ and less comfortable commenting on someone’s body image. She said:

“If you think you are saying something good or well-intentioned, whatever it is, healthy-unhealthy, bog-small, this-that, s*xy-not s*xy, I don’t, we just shouldn’t, we should really work towards not doing that as much. There are ways to compliment someone or to ignore something that you see that you don’t like.”

Ariana Grande encouraged people to prioritize safety and support one another, emphasizing that beauty and health came in many forms. She shared that the body people often compared her current appearance to was from a time when she was at her lowest. Back then, she relied on antidepressants and followed an unhealthy lifestyle.

Although she knew she shouldn’t have to explain, she hoped being open about her experience might help others. She reminded everyone that health looks different for each person and that it was impossible to know what someone goes through. Even when comments come from a caring place, one must be kind to others and oneself.