Ryan Murphy breaks silence on Ariana Grande's exit from 'American Horror Story'

Ryan Murphy is breaking his silence on Ariana Grande's shocking exit from the upcoming season of American Horror Story. Page Six confirms that Grande was originally announced to join the upcoming 13th season of American Horror Story, but had to back out due to scheduling conflicts. Murphy tells The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview that there was no bad blood, saying, quote, 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. The creator also revealed that he asked if Grande wanted to join the cast before her year got extremely busy. He says, I don't think the tour had been announced and she obviously 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. But not all hope is lost that Grande, who starred in Ryan Murphy's Scream Queen back in 2015, could appear in another installment of American Horror Story. He says he told the pop star that Murphy says he is respectful of her decision to drop out of this season, which was spotted filming in New York City earlier this summer. He went on to defend Grande's busy schedule, adding, quote, 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. He also acknowledged Grande's love of horror, which was apparent in her newest music video, Petal, where she ends the video with a bloody chainsaw scene. But that wasn't what got the public's attention. Instead, the Petal video went viral for Grande's appearance, with fans concerned that she looked alarmingly thin. And just days after the online backlash, Grande announced she was stepping away from the spotlight and dropping out of her West End debut in Sunday in the Park with George. Grande was set to star in the musical alongside her Wicked co-star, Jonathan Bailey. Grande's stepping away from public life after the end of her Eternal Sunshine tour, which just wrapped up its North American leg. She penned an emotional note to her fans on Instagram with a carousel of photos and videos from the tour, writing, I am overwhelmed with love and the deepest gratitude. Thank you endlessly for the most special, beautiful, joyful and deeply fulfilling few months. I will cherish every moment of this time with you all. And adding, London, I cannot wait to see you soon. I love you all more than ever. Grande's tour concludes in the UK, where she has 10 sold out dates at London's iconic O2 Arena.