Leighton Meester defends exchange with Ariana Grande at Critics Choice Awards

Leighton Meester is clearing up that awkward exchange with Ariana Grande at the Critics Choice Awards in January.

During the viral moment at the Jan. 4 awards show, Grande shouted “I love you so much! Wow, wow, wow,” while passing Meester, who cheekily responded, “Wah, wah, wah” with a laugh.

Some thought the “Gossip Girl” alum, 39, was mocking the “Wicked” songstress, 32 — but Meester explained that she thought Grande was ribbing her for crying over husband Adam Brody‘s 2025 win at the same awards show for “Nobody Wants This.”

She was with her publicist when the “Wicked” star “said something” to her, Meester recalled during Wednesday’s episode of the “Podcrushed” podcast.

“And then Kate [her publicist] turns around, and we both heard that, ‘Hi, I love you. Wah, wah, wah.’”

“I couldn’t hear her,” Meester continued. “She was, like, walking away. And I was like, ‘Oh, she’s kind of a comedy queen. She’s just being funny.’ Like, ‘I love you. Wah, wah, wah.’ Like, I thought that would be something she would do.”

She added, “And so I was like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s cute and funny.’”

Meester then shared that she’d simply misunderstood what the Nickelodeon alum had said.

“Turns out she didn’t say that,” she said, adding that she “saw her, like, the next week” and attempted to explain the “embarrassing” mistake.

“And she’s like, ‘You thought I said wah, wah, wah? That’s so funny.’ And I was like, ‘No, it’s an old person not being able to hear.’ Like, that is so embarrassing.”

A rep for Grande did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.

Meester faced online backlash over the encounter last month, which was shared via Instagram by E! News.

“Leighton Meester The ‘wow wow wow’ was said in a mocking tone,” one person remarked, while another questioned, “She is making fun of her?”

Others didn’t see any harm in Meester’s lighthearted response.

“Even if she was mocking her it was done in a lightness idk why some of the comments were making it serious lol I found it funny and cute,” one person remarked, with another chiming in, “This is so sweet, they’re both amazing women.”