How Ariana Grande Really Feels About Her Cosplay Impersonator Paige Niemann

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, why is everyone creeped out by Ariana Grande's impersonator? Social media personality Paige Niemann is taking her cosplay to the next level, and her audience is worried that the line is now too blurred from where Niemann ends and Grande begins. Her impersonations of the singer date back to at least 2017, when she posted a photo of herself on Instagram in a vibrant red wig with a giant stuffed animal, simply captioning the post: "Cat Valentine." 

As of this writing, Niemann has over 10 million followers on TikTok and hundreds of Grande look-alike videos, including lip-syncing dialogue from "Victorious," recreating Grande's SNL costumes, and mimicking the choreography from "Wicked" in Glinda's Wiz uniform — she's even got down Grande's '60s-inspired hairstyles, including the iconic ponytail. However, what really got heads turning was her first red-carpet appearance. Niemann showed up to the 2025 "Companion" premiere in full glam, but from the gown down to the facial expressions, the look screamed Ari. "Aren't you tired of pretending to be someone else," one person inquired in Niemann's Instagram post from the night. "This is so scary," another wrote. 

Grande says she hasn't directly addressed her doppelgänger online, but she's hinted at wanting to. In an interview with Vanity Fair, while hooked up to a lie detector test, Grande's "Wicked" co-star Cynthia Erivo asked the former Nickelodeon star: "Have you ever confronted anyone who's impersonated you," to which Grande responded with, "No." When Erivo added: "Have you ever wanted to?" Grande said, "Yes." She chuckled and added: "In a fun way." Niemann must've taken her response to heart because she later posted a selfie on her Instagram Story with the caption (via TikTok): "When I get confronted in a fun way," seemingly referring to Grande's comment. 

Despite what Ariana Grande has said about confronting her impersonators, Paige Niemann claims that her celebrity idol contacted her via DMs. "She reached out to me," Niemann told Entertainment Tonight in 2019, adding, "I was shocked. She's my idol so I was shaking a little bit ... She said, 'Let me know if you're ever going to my "Sweetener Tour," we can grab a hug.'" Niemann also said Grande wrote that she was proud of her and found her impressions a form of flattery. Considering what Grande once Tweeted, we're getting mixed signals.

In the same year, Grande responded to a fan's comment about Niemann on X (then Twitter), writing, "[I] just wonder whyyyy the cat voice / dialogue. [I] am sure she is the sweetest sweet sweetheart forreal !! but it's [definitely] bizarre seeing people blend the two worlds lmao [sic]," per Buzzfeed. It sounds like Grande is trying to be nice, but is probably sick of hearing the Cat voice since she hated her role on "Victorious." The reality is that her online impersonators have done well at keeping up with Grande's beauty evolution thus far, so who's stopping them from going full Glinda blonde? It totally didn't stop Niemann.