Ariana Grande is no stranger to shedding tears, but there’s one Adam Sandler movie that truly makes her weep.
The singer-actress, who sparked a social media frenzy for her emotional responses during the press tour for Wicked, revealed that Sandler’s 1998 comedy film The Waterboy is the movie that makes her shed tears.
“The Waterboy, with Adam Sandler, makes me cry,” Grande told W Magazine of the 1998 film in an interview published on Friday. “When they’re mean to Bobby Boucher, I cry. I don’t like it. I love Bobby Boucher. He says, ‘Would you please still be my friend?’ and I lose it. But I cry at everything.”
Played by Sandler, Bobby Boucher is a socially awkward 30-something who serves as the water boy for the University of Louisiana football program. After he is unexpectedly fired, Bobby joins a rival team where he finds success as a linebacker. Kathy Bates starred as Bobby’s overprotective mother and Henry Winkler appeared as Bobby’s football coach in the film.
Grande has previously shared her love for The Waterboy, re-creating scenes from the comedy while quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. The Golden Globe nominee appeared as Bobby in full costume and makeup in a video she shared on Twitter (now X).
Her former Victorious co-star Elizabeth Gillies played the role of Vicki Vallencourt, Bobby’s love interest, while Grande’s mother, Joan, played Bates’ Mama Boucher in the video.
“Another super productive day,” Grande captioned the clip at the time.
Sandler responded to Grande’s reenactment, sharing the video with a simple tweet: “Bobby Boucher approves of this message.”
Grande has been open about her feelings in recent months with several of her emotional Wicked interviews going viral. The “Thank U, Next” singer and her Wicked co-star, Cynthia Erivo, apologized and explained the reason they were teary-eyed throughout the film’s press run at the Los Angeles premiere in November.
“I’m really sorry. It’s really emotional,” Grande told Entertainment Tonight. “You need to understand. It’s been like three years, people! There’s a lot going on. Why does emotional availability scare you so?”
