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Ryan Murphy is opening up about Ariana Grande‘s exit from the upcoming 13th season of American Horror Story.

The Oscar-nominated actress was announced as a cast member for the upcoming season back in October 2025 and fans were excited to see her reunite with TV creator Ryan Murphy, who she previously worked with on Scream Queens.

On July 10, 2026, it was confirmed that Ariana had dropped out of the season due to scheduling conflicts with her summer tour.

Ryan confirmed this in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

I love Ariana Grande. We’re great friends. I had an idea and I came to her and she, very immediately, said, “I’m not sure because I think I’m going on tour.” I don’t think the tour had been announced, and she had obviously just finished the Wicked movie. So 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.” And I said, “OK, if you can’t, we can push to another season.” She said, “Great.”

Ryan also teased the potential to work with Ariana in the future.

You have to be respectful. Who is busier than Ariana Grande? No one. She had told me at the time, “I have this album that’s dropping.” It was really, truly a scheduling conflict. I said, “OK, we’ll kick that can down the road,” and she said, “Great.” Ariana is a big fan of horror. She’s obviously done homages of that in her work; she did Scream Queens for me and loved the experience, and people love her in that show. So I will always work with her.

I love her, and I support her. It was a very big swing, but I might bring that back for another season, per Ariana’s availability. I think the world of her.

Following the news of her dropping out of the show, Ariana also announced a step back from public life.

Posted To:American Horror Story Ariana Grande Ryan Murphy Television