Ariana Grande Wrongly Blamed for Mac Miller’s Death

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Molly Farrar, A&E Editor

Rapper Mac Miller was found dead in his home after an apparent drug overdose on Friday, Sept. 7, and fans took to social media to place the blame on his ex-girlfriend, Ariana Grande.

After almost two years together, Grande and Miller broke up in late April 2018. Shortly after, Miller was charged with a DUI and Grande was engaged to comedian Pete Davidson.

Since Miller’s death, Grande has deactivated comments on her Instagram account in response to many fans writing “#ArianaKilledMac” under her posts. Her most recent post was of Miller while they were still together, with no caption, in tribute to his death.

Miller’s DUI and his subsequent death have been wrongly placed on Grande’s shoulders. The public has viewed her in a way many women in the spotlight are viewed. Women like Yoko Ono and Courtney Love have been blamed for their husbands’ actions, villainizing women in relationships.

According to Rolling Stone, Grande and Love experienced the “Yoko Effect,” coined following John Lennon’s departure from the Beatles and the speculation into Ono’s influence in his decision. Grande, nor any other woman, should be condemned for someone else’s behavior, but unfortunately, this effect will continue to lurk in the tabloids for many years to come.

Ariana Grande took to Twitter herself after Miller’s DUI back in May, addressing her own experience with the “Yoko Effect.”

“How absurd that you minimize female self-respect and self-worth by saying someone should stay in a toxic relationship because he wrote an album about them,” she wrote on May 23, 2018. “I am not a babysitter or a mother and no woman should feel that they need to be.”