Leighton Meester breaks silence on viral Ariana Grande snub

Leighton Meester has finally set the record straight regarding her supposedly icy exchange with Ariana Grande at the Critics Choice Awards.

The moment became an overnight sensation in January when Grande was filmed shouting, “I love you so much! Wow, wow, wow,” as she passed.

Meester’s response—a laughing “Wah, wah, wah”—led many fans to believe the Gossip Girl star was mocking the Wicked actress.

Appearing on the Podcrushed podcast this Wednesday, the 39-year-old explained that the whole thing was a cringeworthy misunderstanding.

Meester recalled being with her publicist when Grande spoke. “And then Kate turns around, and we both heard that, ‘Hi, I love you. Wah, wah, wah,’” she shared.

Meester mistakenly assumed Grande was teasing her for crying during her husband Adam Brody’s acceptance speech.

“I couldn’t hear her,” Meester continued. “She was, like, walking away. And I was like, ‘Oh, she’s kind of a comedy queen. She’s just being funny.’”

Thinking she was in on the joke, Meester replied in kind. “And so I was like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s cute and funny.’”

The reality, she later discovered, was far more mundane. When she bumped into Grande the following week, she tried to explain the “embarrassing” slip-up.

According to Meester, Grande found the confusion hilarious. “And she’s like, ‘You thought I said wah, wah, wah? That’s so funny.’ And I was like, ‘No, it’s an old person not being able to hear.’ Like, that is so embarrassing.”