Ariana Grande Imitator, Gabi DeMartino, Makes Cameo In ‘Thank U, Next’ Video & Fans Are Confused

Ariana Grande dropped the teaser video for “Thank U, Next” on Nov. 26, featuring celeb cameos from Mean Girls star, Jonathan Bennett, Troye Sivan, and more. However, it was the inclusion of YouTube star, Gabi DeMartino, that really got fans talking! Gabi is known for parodying Ariana on her YouTube page, but her impressions aren’t always well-received by Arianators, so many were left quite confused over the singer’s decision to put her in the video. “WTF is gabi doing in this video?” one person wrote. Another added, “Tell me why I see Gabi in the thank u, next music video preview.”

However, other fans found the cameo GENIUS. In the video, Gabi and the other celebs are featured in a Mean Girls sequence, in which they each jokingly reveal why they want to copy Queen Bee Ariana, who plays the “Regina George” character. “Ariana Grande says, ‘Honest to God, knock me out,’ so I decided to punch myself in the face,” Gabi’s character says. “It was awesome!” Since Gabi is often slammed for trying to copy Ariana, fans loved that the ladies were poking fun at her attempts to imitate the superstar.

“Y’all made fun of gabi demartino’s obsession with ariana grande so bad that ariana put her in the music video,” one fan tweeted. “LORDDD!!!! I Have seenwhat you have done for others!!” Someone else wrote, “Say what you want about whoever is in the music video but Ariana is a genius. She chose Colleen, Troye & GABI for a reason. BECAUSE THEY’LL HAVE PEOPLE TALKING!”

Over the summer, a feud nearly broke out between Ariana and Gabi, when the YouTube star posted a video imitating Ari’s laugh. Ari caught wind of the video and tweeted, “Yea this ain’t it.” Fans went nuts over the shade, but Ariana quickly shot down rumors of any beef. “I was just being funny I knew they’d laugh at that my bad babe,” Ariana tweeted to Gabi. “It’s all love here, u know that.” Well, clearly the love IS real — and we can’t WAIT to see the full music video!