She’s one of the most world’s most recognisable stars after Wicked became a box office smash hit success last year.
But fans of Ariana Grande who thought they saw the Hollywood A-lister on the red carpet this week should look again.
For it was actually Paige Niemann — the viral internet personality who has gained major traction online in recent years for her controversial impersonations of the 31-year-old artist.
Much like the Dangerous Woman singer, 20-year-old Paige styled her hair with an oversized bow and applied black cat eye makeup.
‘Is that actually Ari in the second pic?’ one confused social media user asked.
‘She’s copying everything down to the eyebrows,’ another noted.
A third user even wrote: ‘Wait I thought that was actually Ari for a second and I’m stupid.’
‘Part of me feels so bad for Paige Niemann because she gets so much hate but then part of me is confused as to why she thinks looking like Ariana is important,’ a fourth said.
Fans of Ariana Grande who thought they saw the Hollywood A-lister on the red carpet this week, should look again. Pictured, Paige Niemann at the ‘Companion’ Los Angeles premiere on January 27
Paige Niemann (left) — a viral internet personality — has gained major traction online in recent years for her controversial impersonations of the 31-year-old artist Ariana (right)
Niemann, however, is not the first influencer to deliberately impersonate a celebrity.
Earlier this month, 50-year-old lawyer Ana Paula Oliveira, from Brazil, revealed she had spent $50,000 on plastic surgery to look like a Kardashian.
UK-born Jack Johnson has also admitted to spending £20,000 on cosmetic surgery when he was a teenager to look like his British football idol — David Beckham.
Dubbed celebrity obsession disorder, or celebrity worship syndrome (CWS), it is an obsessive-addictive disorder that causes people to become overly involved with a celebrity’s life.
Experts believe it exists on a continuum, and several scales have been developed to measure its level of intensity.
One study, published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, even theorised that as many a third of the general public may experience celebrity worship on a borderline extreme level.
There’s no known direct cause of celebrity worship syndrome.
But one expert in behavioural psychology suggested that people monitor and follow celebrities so closely in an effort ‘not to be ignored’.
Niemann (pictured on TikTok in similar clothing to Ariana Grande’s Wicked character Glinda) is not the first influencer to deliberately impersonate a celebrity
Pictured, Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande, right, in a scene from Wicked
Earlier this month, 50-year-old lawyer Ana Paula Oliveira, from Brazil, revealed she had spent $50,000 on plastic surgery to look like a Kardashian. Pictured: Ana before (left) and after (right) surgery
Dr Paul Harrison from Deakin University in Australia, said: ‘Everything is about seeking a better life and a desperate desire not to be ignored or forgotten, so we look to celebrities to help guide us on how to achieve something akin to their lives.
‘We know that we’re not the same, but we also have to believe that what they have achieved is only just out of our reach.
‘In other words, it’s all about fitting in, perhaps being a bit better.
‘We believe that if we follow those with success, some form of authority or a sense of power, we set ourselves on the right path.’
Experts also warned people against undergoing cosmetic procedures because their favourite celebrity or influencer has also had the same treatment.
Mr Kshem Yapa, a London-based consultant plastic surgeon specialising in facial surgery and rhinoplasty, told MailOnline that while Niemann has ‘some facial features that look similar to Ariana Grande’, she has ‘undoubtedly had quite a lot of facial, jawline and chin filler, to give her a snatched jawline and look like her’.
He added: ‘She has also possibly had some in her cheekbones to make them look more pronounced, lip filler for sure, and may too have had dimple surgery to recreate natural dimples that Ariana Grande has.
‘As a plastic surgeon, if someone comes to me and says “I want to look like a celebrity”, it’s definitely not a healthy starting point.
Jack Johnson, from Bulwell, Nottingham, hit the headlines after he revealed he spent £20,000 to look like a former football star
Jack Johnson said he was a teenager when he spent £20,000 to look like David Beckham
‘It is certainly not a healthy approach to cosmetic surgery.
‘Procedures shouldn’t be based on trends. They have lasting effects.’
Fillers — typically injections of collagen or hyaluronic acid — for example, are offered in beauty clinics for as little as £75.
‘I see patients that have had fillers from a very young age and they get to a stage where they feel overfilled and they have to have that dissolved,’ he added.
‘There are consequences to overdoing things too early on. Of course, celebrities on TV might do this.
‘But there is a downside to it and less is more should be the way forward.
‘Needing to dissolve it can create a vicious circle, where patients are committing themselves to further treatments later down the line.’
‘The problem with fillers is that it is not a very well regulated industry. It is not seen as a medical device and it doesn’t require a nurse or a doctor to administer it.
Experts have previously warned people against undergoing cosmetic procedures because their favourite celebrity or influencer has also had the same treatment. Pictured, Niemann
Niemann was banned from TikTok in November 2024. Pictured, Ariana Grande in 2018
‘Understanding facial anatomy is important. Risks such as clogging blood vessels, overfilling, having reactions to it have been well publicised.’
Dr Paul Banwell, a Sussex-based award-winning consultant plastic and cosmetic surgeon, also told MailOnline: ‘Unrealistic expectations of beauty ideals — especially due to Instagram and heavily filtered images — are fueling pressure for young adults to have surgery on their face.
‘Because these filters and edits have become the norm among some influencers and celebrities, it’s altering people’s perception of normal beauty ideals worldwide.
‘It can be dangerous when people start to get cosmetic surgery to look like a certain celebrity or influencer.
‘My approach is always to involve an in-house psychologist to speak with patients before surgery.’
Research has also indicated the disorder is ‘associated with several mental health problems, such as symptoms of depression and anxiety, dissociation, and body image concerns’.
Writing in the Journal of Behavioural Addictions, the scientists from Hungary added: ‘High levels of celebrity worship were associated with problematic Internet use, maladaptive daydreaming, and desire for fame.
‘Females were at higher risk to become obsessed with celebrities than males.’
Grande has reportedly expressed discomfort with the impersonations, which Niemann has been doing since 2016. Pictured, Ariana Grande on the Graham Norton Show earlier this month
In 2019, Ariana Grande said that it was ‘bizarre,’ although she was sure Niemann (pictured) was a ‘sweetheart’
Other plastic surgery experts and leading organisations have long called for surgeons to carry out a thorough psychological assessment before any procedure.
British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons council member Caroline Payne, said: ‘Surgery is not a cure for unhappiness.
‘It can actually lead to depression in patients who are not properly screened beforehand.’
Niemann has long drawn controversy with her impression of the Wicked star, with some social media users accusing her of pretending to be Grande in her content.
Niemann was banned from TikTok in November 2024, and many suspect the ban was because she was using her accounts to advertise her OnlyFans page, where she posts explicit content while continuing her efforts to look like the pop star.
Grande has reportedly expressed discomfort with the impersonations, which Niemann has been doing since 2016.
In 2019, she also said that it was ‘bizarre,’ although she was sure Niemann was a ‘sweetheart.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
