Every Cameo in Ariana Grande's "thank u, next" Music Video
In case you missed it, Ariana Grande has been majorly teasing her "thank u, next" music video on Instagram, and it includes plenty of throwbacks to fans’ favorite films, like Bring it On and Legally Blonde, plus all of the Mean Girls you could ever want.
Jonathan Bennett
Yes, the Aaron Samuels makes an appearance in the video. In a teaser for the launch, Bennett says “Ariana Grande told me my hair looks sexy pushed back — she’s not wrong,” paying homage to a Cady Heron line from the original film. Bennett is currently promoting the release of The Burn Cookbook, a Mean Girls parody cookbook he co-wrote with celeb chef Nikki Martin. The book includes recipes like Fetch-uccine and “I Can’t Help It That I’m So Popular” Popcorn.
Gabi DeMartino
DeMartino is a 23-year-old YouTuber and Grande look-alike who, along with her twin sister Niki DeMartino, makes videos on her channel Niki and Gabi. In the video, DeMartino plays one of Grande’s wannabes, saying: “Ariana says ‘honest to God knock me out,’ so I decided to punch myself in the face — it was awesome.”
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Elizabeth Gillies
The Dynasty star takes on the role of Cady Heron for the video and it’s uncanny how much she looks like the original Cady, played by Lindsay Lohan. So much so, in fact, that Lohan responded to Grande’s photo of the cast with her own Instagram post: “Ain't nobody Lindsay Lohan like the real Lindsay Lohan," she captioned a selfie on Instagram. "But so flattered by @arianagrande loving #MeanGirls so much! Also, I love #dynasty."
Jennifer Coolidge
Grande also posted a photo with Legally Blonde actress Jennifer Coolidge — who played Reese Witherspoon’s “bend and snap” protege in the film — with the caption “new best friend … thank u, next." In the photo, Grande is wearing a feathered pink top and her signature high pony, while Coolidge is clad in a denim vest and skirt that mirror the outfit she wore as Paulette in Legally Blonde.
Stefanie Drummond
While her original line about her “heavy flow” and “wide-set vagina” is tough to top, Drummond delivers a one-liner in the video teaser that certainly suits her Mean Girls persona. Wearing a pink polo shirt, Drummond deadpans to the camera: “Ariana broke off an engagement so I found a guy to propose to me and I broke off an engagement.”
Colleen Ballinger
The “Miranda Sings” YouTube personality’s real-life pregnancy became the storyline for her appearance in the “thank u, next” promo video. Standing next to a locker with her notebook in hand, Ballinger says: “One time on Twitter, I heard Ariana was pregnant so I got pregnant so we could be pregnant at the same time … turns out it was just a rumor,” before the camera pans out to reveal her growing belly.
Troye Sivan
The singer, who collaborated with Grande earlier this year for his song "Dance To This,” also appears in the video. “I heard she’s a lesbian now and dating some chick called Aubrey … that’s fucking sick,” he says.
Other Appearances
The rest of the confirmed cast includes a few of Grande’s closest friends, including backup dancer Scott Nicholson who is dressed as a high school girl and appears next to Drummond. He adds to the conversation about Grande, noting: “I heard if you record her snoring and play it backwards it sounds like Fantasia.”
BFFs Courtney Chipolone and Alexa Luria are dressed to play the parts of Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith, respectively.
And a nod to the rival cheer squads in the 2000 film Bring It On includes several of Grande’s longtime backup dancers, as well as Tayla Parx and Victoria Monét, who co-wrote "thank u, next” with the Sweetener singer.
Even Grande's dog, Toulouse, makes a cameo in the video as Legally Blonde's Bruiser Woods, People reported. Grande posted a photo of the pooch floating on a pink pool raft and, really, it’s just too cute.