Giuliana Rancic goes on the record: Ariana Grande is a diva

For months, there have been whispers that Ariana Grande is a diva toward fans, crews working with her and even other celebrities. At first, the stories sounded a bit too ridiculous to be true.

“She demanded to be shot only on her left side and told the lighting crew that if they used red light, she would ‘kill herself,'” a source told Star of working with the former Nickelodeon star in August. The insider added that on another summertime photo shoot, “She arrived hours late, with no explanation, and refused to do anything the photographer asked. She was acting like a crazy person. One minute she was all sweetness… Then she’d storm out, only to come back two minutes later, all smiles.”

Then the sources got more credible: Australia’s News.com reported the 21-year-old singer issued a lengthy list of demands to reporters and photographers…

Reporters may not ask questions about:
1. Relationships/Dating/Ex-boyfriends
2. Mariah Carey
3. Sam & Cat/Jennette McCurdy
4. Working/collaborating with Justin Bieber
5. Her grandfather passing away

Photographers may not:
1. Use natural light
2. Only shoot the left side of her face

When those demands weren’t met to her satisfaction on the set of one of the press photo shoots in Australia last week, her rep supposedly demanded the photographer delete all the pictures he’d taken. Ariana then bailed on the rest of her scheduled photo shoots.

During a subsequent show with Australia’s Mike E & Emma, Ariana said the reports of her storming off set are “totally untrue and very annoying.” She added, “I’m just like, you know what, that’s not real, that’s nonsense, my fans know who I am, my family knows who I am, my friends know who I am and that’s all that matters.”

Manager Scooter Braun — who did a great job of keeping Justin Bieber’s ego in check — then tweeted his support.

“Ariana Grande is kind, caring, and more than anything she is a great human being. Some people make up rumours for a living…so…saying things about Ari comes with her now being a big star,” he said. “But saying she isn’t a good person that ain’t gonna fly. There is zero truth to anything different. Enough is enough.”

Ok, true. Some people are jealous. Maybe the reports of Ariana’s diva behavior are overblown… Not so, says Giuliana Rancic, who went on the record this week about her own experience with the singer.

“Here’s the thing: I feel like where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” said the E! News host. “I think she does have a little bit of a diva thing going on… I remember, I think it was at the AMAs, she came up on the platform and, you know, normally I stand on this side to the camera… Little Ariana comes over and I felt a bit elbow in my side and I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And they push me to the other side.”

Giuliana said she got the impression that she either had to move over to lose the interview. So, reluctantly, she went ahead with it… But finally got some revenge by hitting Ariana where it hurts when recalling the interview to her co-hosts.

“It’s one thing if it’s Mariah,” Giuliana said. “Mariah, you know, I’ll get on any side. I’ll bend down. I’ll climb a ladder. Whatever it takes to get Mariah… But, when you’re new on the block, when you’re trying to earn your stripes… Try to get a great reputation. Like, go overboard to please people.”