When Victoria Justice famously said, “I think we all sing,” she was referring to herself, Elizabeth Gillies, and Ariana Grande (and perhaps the rest of the Victorious cast, too). She wasn’t speaking about the whole internet, and certainly not the nagging voices on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram who have criticized Grande’s altered speaking voice, thinking they understand vocal health. Many have called out that Grande has been talking at a higher pitch than she has in past interviews, sometimes even with a sing-song vocal pattern. Even though Grande has repeatedly addressed the backlash, people keep coming for her, pointing out times when they can hear her “real voice” peeking through.

Replying to a TikTok, Grande explained the reason for the switch: “habit (speaking like this for two years) and also vocal health :) 🍵 i intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing i’m doing 😭 i’ve always done this BYE.”

She also called out the double standard women face when it comes to committing to a performance. “When it’s a male actor that does it, it’s acclaimed,” she told Vanity Fair. “There are definitely jokes that are made as well, but it’s always after being led with praise: ‘Oh, wow, he was so lost in the role.’ And that’s just a part of the job, really.”

As a former opera major and current singing sensation (yes, that is my formal title), I have some words for the internet: Let Ari live. Let her breathe. Let her speak, however she chooses. And let her sing, goddammit, because if preserving her vocal health and changing her speaking voice a bit allowed her to float effortlessly above the staff for all of Wicked and record her game-changing album eternal sunshine, we shouldn’t be coming for her. As a matter of fact, we should actually be thanking her for providing some of the most crystal-clear vocals the world has ever seen.

When I studied opera many moons ago, I learned to do exactly what Ariana is talking about. A high tenor, I was told by my voice teacher to, at times, speak in a higher register to preserve my voice. It can help to put less stress on your vocal cords and keep your vocal positioning more consistent between singing and speaking. This allows healthy habits to build, allowing singers to do multiple Broadway shows a day, or, I don’t know, spend 12 hours on a film set belting the same line over and over again, and then coming back the next day and singing some more.

Melissa Foster, the Charles Deering McCormick Distinguished Professor of Instruction at Northwestern University’s School of Communications, specializes in musical theater and pop singing. She says that essentially everyone has an “optimal speaking pitch” where their voice should lie. It’s where the voice will live its most healthy life. Many Americans speak in a lower register than the pitch they are supposed to, often due to societal pressures. Our voices dive even lower when we are fatigued or stressed.

“I’m correcting my students all the time,” Foster says. “Your body is tired, and then that means you’re short of breath support. Your system isn’t working efficiently and effectively. It might be as simple as Ariana making sure that she is starting at her optimal speaking pitch or slightly higher than that. So, as her voice naturally drops in conversation, it won’t end up lower than that.”

For the role of Glinda specifically, because its vocal parts are written higher than most roles, speaking higher would train Grande’s vocal cords and allow her voice to stay ready and prepared for the next time she has to break into song. “Sustaining that range, where muscle memory and coordination have been built, allows for that higher pitch for Glinda’s lines,” Foster says. “Living in that might also be an act of vocal health preservation.”

I beg you, Ariana Grande, please keep preserving your voice. Speak in whatever pitch you want, because we need you and your music. Drink water, go to bed, and take care of yourself. I stand in defense of you, now and forever, on this matter. The rest of the internet should as well.