Here's Why Ariana Grande Didn't Put Mac Miller in Her 'Thank U, Next' Burn Book
Ariana Grande’s music video is full of iconic references, including nods to some of the best rom-coms of the early aughts—but it also paid written homage to her exes, Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez and Pete Davidson, who each got a page in Ariana’s Mean Girls-inspired Burn Book. But there was something that, at first, seemed quite small—until you picked up on it: Namely, um, where was Mac Miller’s page?
Miller died of an overdose in September, several weeks before Grande and Davidson broke up. Miller and Grande had split up in May after almost two years of dating, so the news understandably hit her hard. Grande still seems to be working through his death and rather than give him a page in her Burn Book, she paid tribute to their relationship in a different way—and we’ve all just caught it now.
As Elle noted on Friday, a fan tweeted on Thanksgiving, expressing her excitement for the upcoming video: “when she flips through the thank u next burn book and pics of her with sean, ricky, pete & mac arrive……………. we had to fucking stan”
Grande’s response revealed that he wasn’t in the book—he was somewhere else in the video: “M ain’t in the book he next to my bed.”
Grande sings Miller’s verse, looking up—”Wish I could say thank you to Malcolm, ’cause he was an angel”—and then closes the book, right around the one-minute mark in the video. Behind her on the nightstand are several framed photos are. It seems likely that he’s in one of the photos, though you can’t quite see it.
Check it out for yourself, below:
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