Ryan Murphy has confirmed that Ariana Grande was originally set to appear in American Horror Story Season 13 before her touring commitments made scheduling impossible.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Murphy explained that Grande declined the role after realizing the demands of her Eternal Sunshine Tour would conflict with production. “When it came time to do that episode, I called her up and she was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to juggle the tour with this,'” Murphy said. “And I said, ‘OK, if you can’t, we can push to another season.'”
Rather than recasting, Murphy said he intends to hold the character concept for Grande’s potential future availability. “It was a very big swing, but I might bring that back for another season, per Ariana’s availability,” he said. “I think the world of her.”
Grande previously worked with Murphy on Fox’s Scream Queens in 2015. Murphy noted her long-standing interest in horror, citing her recent music video for “Petal” from her album of the same name. “Ariana is a big fan of horror,” he said. “She’s obviously done homages of that in her work.”
Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Tour concludes September 1 in London. Her representative announced that she will take a break from public-facing work following the tour’s conclusion.
See Ariana Grande live
Upcoming Ariana Grande events with tickets available:
- Aug 15, 2026 — O2 Arena – London, London, Greater London · Get tickets
- Aug 16, 2026 — O2 Arena – London, London, Greater London · Get tickets
- Aug 19, 2026 — O2 Arena – London, London, Greater London · Get tickets
- Aug 20, 2026 — O2 Arena – London, London, Greater London · Get tickets
- Aug 23, 2026 — O2 Arena – London, London, Greater London · Get tickets
Tickets are sold by GetUrTix. Code GTIX20 takes 20% off the ticket price at checkout — no minimum, no expiry.
Source: Billboard
