Ariana Grande impersonator Paige Niemann shares sad message Ariana Grande sent to her

A notorious Ariana Grande doppelgänger says the real singer previously reached out to encourage her to drop her controversial act.

Paige Niemann is an internet personality that loyal fans of the real Ariana have known about for almost a decade.

Since her teenage years, when she was reportedly first compared to the Disney Channel alum at school, the 21-year-old has imitated Ariana on social media from her bedroom.

Niemann regularly churns out pictures and videos purposefully aimed at recreating some of Ariana's signature looks, including her red 'Cat Valentine' wig made famous by the actress' Victorious and Sam & Cat roles, her brunette phase with a lengthy ponytail and dramatic winged eyeliner, and last year, the blonde hair she famously rocked for her role as 'Glinda the Good' in Wicked.

More recently, however, Niemann has faced backlash from fans of 32-year-old Ariana, who've branded her 'desperate' and 'weird' for her impersonations, especially after it was confirmed she'd joined OnlyFans, where she promised to share 'exclusive content that you wouldn't normally see from me'.

In light of the criticism, she recently appeared in a documentary series titled Turning The Paige, which reportedly follows the online star as she 'reclaim[s] her identity after going viral as an Ariana Grande lookalike'.

During one segment of the series, Niemann tells viewers that the real Ariana - who has only referenced her hotly-debated work publicly on a handful of occasions - once DM'd her, encouraging her to be herself.

According to Niemann, the 'Side to Side' singer wrote to her: "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.

"without all the make-up and trying to make your face look more similar to someone else's and whatnot. i had to say it because it is the truth."

Ariana reportedly added: "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."

News of the star having reached out to Niemann has seemingly blown the minds of several viewers, many of whom have joked that Ariana had acted far too leniently given the circumstances.

"My girl is way too kind for this world," one gushed on X.

"This is why Ariana will always be that girl. Kind even when she doesn’t have to be. Respect," another continued.

A third noted: "The obsession with impersonators is getting weird. At what point does it stop being flattery and start being an identity crisis?"

What else has Ariana Grande ever said about Paige Niemann?

Buzzfeed reported in 2019 that Ariana responded on X to a fan's theory about Niemann's antics earlier that year, writing: "@knnewagb i just wonder whyyyy the cat voice / dialogue.

"I am sure she is the sweetest sweet sweetheart forreal !! but it’s definitely bizarre seeing people blend the two worlds lmao."

The same publication alleged that, on a separate occasion, the 'Thank U, Next' star shared a now-deleted video of another internet user discussing the concept of impersonation online.

In the video, filmmaker Jordan Firstman is seen explaining: "What if we, like, we took a moment, like a small clip from a movie or a TV show — something that, like, an artist really poured their soul into and it, like, it just took them years to make, and it was an uphill battle the entire time — what if we took a moment from that and we kind of, like, recontextualised it?

"Like, does that make sense? And we put a completely arbitrary meaning onto that thing that the artist loves so much? Kind of, like, degrading its entire value?"

Firstman added: "I just think that could be, like, a fun, bitchy thing to do," he ends the video. "I'm so bored... I just kind of wanna ruin someone's life today."

Ariana supposedly re-shared the clip with her own caption, writing: "Can this please also double as your impression of the ponytail 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 is really how it feels."

While promoting Wicked several years later, Ariana was hooked up to a lie detector by Variety journalists and was also asked by co-star Cynthia Erivo whether she'd 'ever confronted' anyone who impersonated her.

"No," she initially replied before being asked if she 'wanted to'.

"Yes - in a fun way," Ariana subsequently admitted.