Entertainment Africa
Ariana Grande has been pictured for the first time since the terror attack at her Manchester Arena concert on Monday night, which left 22 dead and scores injured.
Fans have been worried for the 23-year-old pop star since she tweeted hours after the atrocity to say she felt “broken”.
The devastation was clear to see as Ariana stepped off her private plane looking downcast and tearful in Boca Raton airport in Florida, where boyfriend Mac Miller was there to meet her with a comforting kiss and cuddle.
Wearing an oversized black hoodie, leggings and sneakers, Ariana made her way down the steps of the aircraft over to where Mac was waiting beside a black car. She was followed by her mum Joan Grande, who has been hailed a hero for helping a group of young fans get to safety when they were caught backstage by the bomb blast.
Ariana missed the explosion by mere moments, having just stepped off the stage when it went off in the foyer of the Arena.
Her drummer Aaron Spears revealed that Ariana and her band were on the way back to their dressing rooms when they heard the blast.
“We finished the show and were walking back to our dressing rooms and BOOM!!! We could hear people. We had no idea what it was… There were all kinds of speculation as to what was going on,” he said in an Instagram message.
“Like 5 minutes after getting to the room, security came in and informed us that we had to evacuate the building immediately… it was then that we realised this was serious.
“Initially we thought that the sound was all kinds of things, but it didn’t hit that this was a bomb until we were evacuated and they told us exactly what was going on… It’s so heart-breaking because so many little ones attend our shows… I just keep thinking about them.
“I’m extremely grateful that no one on the touring crew was physically hurt but this painful memory will live with us all forever… I’m still just in disbelief… It’s so surreal.”
Ariana herself has yet to speak publicly about the atrocity, save for the tweet she sent in the early hours of Tuesday morning that said she was “so so sorry” for what had happened.
