Ariana Grande’s mother was one of the many people who helped young fans following Monday night’s terror attack in Manchester, it has been revealed.
The US singer’s mum was sat at the front of the venue when a bomb was detonated, killing 22 people and injuring 119.
TMZ report that Joan Grande took around 10 young fans backstage and waited with them until they were able to safely leave the venue.
The drummer from Ariana’s tour band has spoken about the “surreal” moment they realised the venue had been targeted.
Sharing his account of events on social media, Aaron Spears said: “We finished the show and we were walking back to our dressing rooms and BOOM!!!’
“We could hear people we had no idea what it was... There was all kinds of speculation as to what was going on.
“Like 5 minutes after getting to the room, security came in and informed us that we had to evacuate the building immediately.
“It was then that we realised this was serious. Initially we thought that the sound was all kinds of things but it didn’t hit that this was a bomb until we were evacuated and they told us exactly what was going on.”
He continued: ‘It’s so heartbreaking because so many little ones attend our shows... I just keep thinking about them.
“I’m extremely thankful that no one on the touring crew was physically hurt but this painful memory will live with us all forever. I’m still just in disbelief... It’s so surreal…”
Ariana was due to play London’s O2 Arena on Thursday and Friday of this week, but the venue posted on its official Twitter page: “We will advise as soon as we can as to the status of those shows.”
She is also slated to perform in Poland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Spain and Italy in the next month.
HuffPost UK has reached out to a press representative for Ariana for clarification.
Stars including Katy Perry, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Gary Barlow and Nicki Minaj also paid tribute to the innocent victims on their social media accounts, while ‘Good Morning Britain’ host Susanna Reid broke down in tears while covering the story earlier in the show.