Ariana Grande impersonator claims singer sent her astonishing DM telling her to 'be herself' and lose the makeup

An Ariana Grande impersonator has claimed she got an astonishing message from the pop star herself about the impression.

Paige Niemann shot to fame on TikTok at the age of 12 by dressing up as Grande and mimicking her in what became an increasingly controversial gimmick.

As her notoriety grew through her teenage years and early adulthood, Niemann's resemblance to Grande began to verge on the eerie.

Her hair and makeup was a dead ringer for Grande's, and she became the subject of  rumors that she had undergone surgery to enhance her similarity to her idol.

Now, however, she has starred on a new Apple TV+ reality show called Turning the Paige advertised as an attempt to 'reclaim her identity.'

On the show, the 22-year-old unveiled a DM supposedly from Grande herself, reassuring her she was 'beautiful as you are' minus 'all the make up.'

The Daily Mail has contacted Grande's representatives for comment. 

Grande allegedly wrote: 'i am flattered and i am sure you’re very sweet. but i just wanted you to know, i looked back a little ways on your page and i think someone should tell you if they haven’t today that you’re very beautiful as YOURSELF.'

She is said to have added: 'without all the make up and trying to make your face look more similar to someone else’s and whatnot.'

The purported message from the Dangerous Woman hitmaker went on: 'i had to say it because it is the truth. always do what makes you happy of course but if i didn’t say that to you, i’d regret it. you’re beautiful as you are. take care.'

Niemann's attempts to look and act like Grande have been so polarizing from the outset that her TikTok account has been taken down on more than one occasion.

Back in 2020, filmmaker Jordan Firstman posted a parody of Ariana Grande impersonators that elicited a response from the pop star herself.

'Can this please also double as your impression of the pony tail TikTok girls who think doing the Cat Valentine voice and that wearing winged eyeliner and a sweatshirt is doing a good impersonation of me... cause this really how it feels,' wrote Grande. 

She made a point of noting that she 'screamed' at the part of Firstman's video in which he described the Grande impressions as 'degrading.'

Niemann, who was 14 at the time, reacted on a livestream by saying that she was 'used to Ariana shading me, so it's whatever.'

She insisted that she was 'just here to entertain people. It's not how I am in real life. It's kind of why I'm not a fan of her any more, honestly.' 

In 2022, the year she turned 18, Niemann launched an OnlyFans with the promise of 'Exclusive content that you normally wouldn’t see from me!'

She was heaped with opprobrium over the 'misleading' page, on which she continued her gambit of attempting to resemble Grande.

When her TikTok was banned for the final time in 2024, rumors flew that the axe fell for the final time because she was using her account to plug her OnlyFans.