We’ve previously written about the absolutely uncanny resemblance between Ariana Grande and her teenage impersonator on TikTok. As it turns out, Grande herself was seriously taken aback by the similarities.
The 15-year-old lookalike, Paige Neimann, told Entertainment Tonight that Grande reached out to chat with her after her videos were brought to the popstar’s attention.
“She said, ‘I’m flattered,’” Neimann shared. “She wanted to let me know that I am beautiful in my own way and I said, ‘Thank you and thank you for being so kind to me.’ And she said, ‘I’m proud of you.’”
I just know Ariana is terrified… https://t.co/yOdYniNGjN
— fan account (@knnewagb) November 22, 2019
Neimann has said she started getting compared to Grande when she was 10 years old, and when she leaned into Grande’s style by mimicking her makeup and hair looks, it just made sense to start posting the transformation on Instagram and TikTok.
“I started doing it for fun and now it’s something that I do regularly, almost every day,” she said.
Neimann has over 2 million followers on TikTok alone, who tune in to watch her do impressions of Grande. She also recreates Victorious scenes with teens who look like other cast members from the Nickelodeon show. Grande portrayed Cat in the show.
One of Neimann’s TikTok videos caught Grande’s attention after it went viral on Twitter.
Grande responded to the video, which shows the teen lip-syncing Cat’s dialogue, saying, “i just wonder whyyy the cat voice / dialogue… it’s [definitely] bizarre seeing people blend the two worlds.”
https://twitter.com/ArianaGrande/status/1198452831180615681
Neimann has been on the receiving end of backlash but has said she doesn’t “care what haters say.”
“I’m just going to keep on doing what makes me happy, and looking like Ariana makes me happy,” Niemann told Dazed in February.
Neimann might be getting to meet her idol in person very, very soon.
“She reached out to me,” Neimann told Entertainment Tonight. “I was shocked. She’s my idol so I was shaking a little bit … She said, ‘Let me know if you’re ever going to my Sweetener Tour, we can grab a hug.’”
READ MORE:
- This TikTok teen looks exactly like Ariana Grande–and fans are terrified
- Ariana Grande sues Forever 21 for using a model who looks ‘strikingly similar’ to her
- Internet freaked by TikTok teen who looks just like two ‘Victorious’ castmates combined
H/T Elle
