No, This Ariana Grande Rumor Is Probably Not True

At this point, it’s no secret that some people have been overreacting to the Ebola outbreak — and this is coming from someone who’s actually a huge germaphobe, so you know it's true. People have been freaking out in the U.S. so much I've actually seen friends on Facebook seriously expressing their wishes to purchase hazmat suits — not to mention that, suddenly, everyone is scared to take public transportation. And now, it's being rumored even people with power, (AKA, celebrities) are revealing their fears as well, essentially making the hysteria that much more ridiculous. Case-in-point: Rumors have been stating that even singer Ariana Grande didn’t attend an event because of Ebola scares going on in NYC after a doctor there tested positive for the virus.

OK, OK — before you get too worked up, let's give Grande the benefit of the doubt here because this is really just a rumor that seems to be pretty unfounded. So, let’s go over the so-called facts: According to a mix of rumors, the 21-year-old was supposed to attend a charity event in Manhattan for Pencils of Promise, and she was among a list of celebrities who were in talks to be there. In the end, she reportedly was a no-show.

“Everybody got there and was waiting for her to arrive and she was also supposed to be a surprise musical guest,” a guest apparently told New York Daily News. “No one was told she wasn’t coming, when I overheard organizers say she’s not coming, she doesn’t want to come. She’s afraid of flying because of Ebola.”

On the other hand, contrasting with what this so-called source apparently overheard, there has actually been some confusion over whether or not Grande was confirmed to attend the event at all. While some organizers of the charity event say the singer was MIA due to a scheduling conflict, event reps Sunshine Sachs PR published this statement:

Pencils of Promise was not expecting Ariana to be in attendance at the gala. She was indeed invited, along with many other celebrities. We apologize for any confusion.

Considering there have been even more rumors that Grande recently cancelled a promo trip to Spain for fear of catching Ebola there as well, it almost seems like these new rumors are simply piggybacking off of the old rumors — and it's pretty much a well-known fact that Grande's no stranger to fending off ridiculous rumors about her behavior.

Truthfully I’d like to believe that Grande is one of the more rational people out there when it comes to the Ebola fears in our country — especially given this evidence. Although she has yet to comment on the situation, at this point, it really just seems like just another rumor.

Images: yourarianagifs; miranda-rph/Tumblr