‘OUCHIE’
Wicked star Ariana Grande, 33, has endured health concerns, crazed fans, and a highly publicized breakup in the last year alone, but her dramatic spotlight was stolen this week after an onstage incident involving her big brother.
Frankie Grande, Ariana’s 43-year-old less-famous sibling, suffered an injury during the July 2 performance of Titanique.
A campy retelling of the tragic 1912 maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, Titanique is narrated through the eyes and music of a fictionalized Céline Dion persona. Frankie portrays Victor Garber, the ship’s captain, in the Broadway show.
In reality, the RMS Titanic was commanded by Captain Edward Smith, who died of drowning or hypothermia as the ship sank. Actor Victor Garber, the namesake of Frankie’s Titanique character, portrayed naval architect Thomas Andrews in the 1997 James Cameron film; Andrews also perished in the tragedy.
In his July 5 Instagram post, Frankie wrote, “In Thursday’s showstopper moment, I launched the wheel into the air… and my nose caught it before my hands did!”
Frankie revealed that the sparkly, hot-pink ship’s wheel prop he uses fell and smacked him in the face.
“Turns out, being gay doesn’t give me catching superpowers. So, I gave myself a little ‘ouchie’ (okay, maybe a concussion),” Frankie explained. “Out of the show ‘til tomorrow. Catch you soon, my loves!”
He shared three pictures on Instagram after the incident, including one of himself performing, holding the wheel, and wearing his stage-adapted Captain’s uniform with a bedazzled belt, seemingly taken before he was hit.
In another photo, he poses shirtless, flexing in a mirror, with a pained expression and a scratch on his nose.
The final photo in the carousel offers a closer look at Frankie’s injuries, with blood and bruising around his eyelid and along the bridge of his nose.
Fans in the comments were quick to sympathize, while also poking fun at his past nose procedures.
“You have to take better care of your prized possessions,” one wrote. “Do you remember how much that cost?! And now there’s a scratch?! Hope it didn’t hurt too badly and heals up soon.”
“Franklin,” another said. “Not the money maker!”
One fan asked, “Third nose incoming?” to which Frankie responded, “You mean 4th…”
In 2025, the Big Brother alum joined his plastic surgeon, Dr. Thomas Romo III, on Instagram to share a detailed history of his rhinoplasty procedures.
“I had my first nose job, like 10-ish years ago,” Frankie said. “And that one was for a deviated septum and a big bump.”
He continued, “And then, 10 years later, we did our revision, because my tip had fallen.”
The performer admitted that he still visits his doctor for “tinkering” and small fixes to maintain the desired appearance of his nose and closed the video by musing, “The fourth time’s a charm, as they say.”
