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Leighton Meester is finally sharing her reaction to the viral moment in which she ran into Ariana Grande on the red carpet last month.
Meester cleared up the confusion about the brief exchange she had with the 32-year-old pop star at the Critics Choice Awards in early January and revealed that she later ran into Grande again.
The 39-year-old Gossip Girl star described the red carpet run-in on January 4 as 'embarrassing' for her and her husband, Adam Brody, 46.
Many fans fired criticism at Meester, as they claimed that she appeared to be mocking Grande by repeating what she said and letting out a chuckle.
At the time, Grande had walked by and exclaimed in awe: 'I love you so much. Wow, wow, wow.'
In the video shared by E! News, Meester smiled back and copied Grande but misunderstood and replied: 'Wah, wah, wah.'
Leighton Meester, 39, cleared up the seemingly awkward interaction she had with Ariana Grande, 32, last month at the Critics Choice Awards; pictured January 11 in Beverly Hills
Several fans accused Meester of mocking what Grande said to her on the red carpet on January 4 after a clip of their brief exchange went viral on social media; Grande is pictured in January 4 in Santa Monica, Calif.
There were mixed reactions on social media as some fans alleged that Meester appeared to be making fun of what Grande said.
Others came to the actress's defense and insisted she was being playful.
Over a month later, Meester addressed the interaction while making an appearance on the season finale of her former Gossip Girl costar Penn Badgley's Podcrushed podcast on Wednesday.
She also revealed that a week after the viral moment, she ran into Grande again and opened up about how their second interaction went.
'I was with Kate, [my publicist],' Meester recalled of the first meeting at the Critics Choice Awards. 'And [Ariana] said something to me. And then Kate turns around, and we both heard that [Ariana said], 'Hi, I love you. Wah, wah, wah.'
Meester claimed that she believed Grande was referencing the moment that she cried over Brody winning a Critics Choice Award last year for his role in Nobody Wants This.
Meester explained that because she and her publicist had just been talking about her teary-eyed moment at the 2025 awards show, she thought that Grande had overheard and was poking fun at her.
'I couldn't hear her. She was, like, walking away. And I was like, "Oh, she's kind of a comedy queen. She's just being funny." Like, "I love you. Wah, wah, wah."
The two actresses had crossed paths on the red carpet, and when Grande said, 'I love you. Wow, wow, wow,' Meester repeated it back but instead said 'Wah, wah,wah' and laughed as she walked away
Meester claimed that she thought Grande was referencing the moment from last year's awards ceremony when she cried while watching her husband Adam Brody accept an award; pictured in January
The Gossip Girl alum also shared a story on a podcast episode this week about how she and Grande cleared up the 'embarrassing' misunderstanding when they ran into each other again later
'Like, I thought that would be something she would do. And so I was like, "Oh, my God, that's cute and funny."'
Later, Meester realized she had misheard what Grande had said to her as the clip of their interaction went viral on social media.
'Turns out she didn't say that,' Meester said. 'And then I saw her, like, the next week, and I was like, "I have to tell you, like, I thought [you said that]."
'And she's like, "You thought I said, 'wah, wah, wah?' That's so funny." And I was like, "No, it's an old person not being able to hear." Like, that is so embarrassing.'
Early last month, Meester walked the red carpet at the Critics Choice Awards in support of her husband Brody.
The former OC star was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his leading role in the second season of his hit Netflix series Nobody Wants This.
The show was also nominated for Best Comedy Series, and several of his costars also received nods for their roles, including his co-lead, Kristen Bell, and supporting stars Justine Lupe and Timothy Simons.
Meester also played a guest star role in the second season.
At the 2025 Critics Choice Awards, Meester was moved to tears while watching her husband accept his award for his leading role in Nobody Wants This; pictured in February 2025
He gave a shoutout to his wife as he accepted the Best Actor in a Comedy Series award for his role in the hit Netflix series. This year, he was nominated in the same category for the second season of Nobody Wants This; pictured in February 2025
Meester said she and her publicist had just been talking about how she cried at the awards show last year when they walked by Grande and the since-viral moment happened; pictured in January 2025
This year, the award for best actor went to Seth Rogen for his lead role in the Apple TV series The Studio.
The previous year, Brody took home the award for his role in the debut season of Nobody Wants This.
During his acceptance speech, he gave a shoutout to his wife, which brought Meester to tears as she watched him proudly from the audience.
'My darling, darling, darling wife Leighton. Thank you for sharing this life with me and this journey with me,' he said last year. 'Thank you for our family. I love you with all my heart.'
Meester and Brody have been married for over a decade.
The pair met in 2011 and costarred that year in the indie film The Oranges.
They went on to begin dating in early 2013, and the following year they tied the knot.
The longtime couple are parents to daughter Arlo, 10, and a five-year-old son, whose name they have not yet publicly revealed.
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