Ariana Grande’s “Petal” Music Video: Gory Meaning Explained

Heartbreak won’t bite here in paradise—but Ariana Grande might. 

The 33-year-old dropped the music video for her song “petal,” the latest single from her eighth studio album of the same name that was released on July 31. 

In the video, Grande plays a doe-eyed aspiring actress named Pepper who endures rejection after rejection while auditioning at Fame Inc, playfully alluding to the “Into You” singer’s own journey in the entertainment industry. 

And in case you were expecting Glinda the Good Witch, she is nowhere to be found here. As Grande sings in the song, “All of my favorite stories end in some kind of catastrophe,” and the music video is no different. 

Indeed, the “petal” video ends in a blood-soaked chainsaw massacre, with Pepper slicing up the executives who constantly picked apart her appearance and talent. While the “yes, and?” artist may have had to drop out of season 13 of American Horror Story earlier this year, it’s clear that she’s still a scream queen.