The Manchester Foundation Trust Charity revealed on December 23 that singer-actress Ariana Grande had donated gifts to children across its hospitals. Ariana's charity efforts come seven years after she put on a huge charity benefit concert, One Love Manchester in 2017, following a terrorist attack that killed 22 music fans and injured over 1,000 others in the city, at her concert in May that year.
The U.K organization in a social media post detailed Ariana's efforts saying,
"We are so grateful to Ariana for thinking of our young patients this Christmas. The gifts she has donated are being distributed to babies, children and teenagers across Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Trafford General Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital."
However, many social media users have insinuated that Grande's gesture is an effort to safeguard her reputation, after a first-person essay by Lilly Jay, her boyfriend Ethan Slater's ex-wife, appeared in The Cut on December 19. After Pop Base reposted the news of Grande's charity, users took to the comment section saying,
"Interesting that they shared this right after Lilly’s essay. Almost as if there was a PR meeting recently!" - another user commented
Some users defended Grande, too.
"this woman is not the villain y'all paint her to be..." - a user wrote
"If this was in Manchester England, then obviously, the events there still impact her. There’s no way I read this as a PR move. This came from the heart." - another user pointed out
"That’s such an incredible gesture at a very important time." - a user noted
More about Ariana Grande's christmas charity work
Her recent charity work isn't the first time the actress has donated to the U.K organization. Apparently, Ariana Grande has been involved in Manchester city charity work every year since the unfortunate terrorist incident at her 2017 concert.
In 2022, the Foundation took to X tweeting pictures detailing Grande's efforts. The photos featured gifts under a christmas tree with the caption,
"Thank you Ariana! We were so excited to receive Christmas gifts for young patients across our hospitals from Ariana Grande."
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Although Ariana Grande has been often involved in charity work, the timing of the Foundation's announcement this year was just days after Lilly Jay published her personal essay.
In the essay, Ethan Slater's ex-wife who had earlier called the Wicked actress "not a girl's girl" said that she never thought she would get divorced, "Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and especially not in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.”
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