Ariana Grande remembers Mac Miller as 'kindest, sweetest soul' in first public statement since rapper's death

Singer Ariana Grande has paid tribute to her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, who died of an apparent overdose. Miller, 26, whose real name was Malcolm James McCormick, was found unresponsive in his home in the Studio City neighbourhood on 8 September. The cause of death has not yet been revealed. In an Instagram post on Saturday, the 25-year-old singer shared her first words on Miller’s death and said she is sorry as she could not save the “sweetest soul’’ who was her “dearest friend”. Grande also shared a video which shows the couple laughing together as he asks her to stop filming him when he is telling a story. After his death, Grande had shared a black-and-white photograph in tribute to Miller, but Saturday’s post is the first time she has commented on his death.

Miller had long suffered from substance abuse and was even vocal about it. In his deeply personal 2014 mixtape ‘Faces’, the rapper had addressed his drug addiction. Miller went through a well-publicised break-up with Grande earlier this year. The duo dated for two years before their break up in May. After their split, Grande started dating comedian Pete Davidson with whom she got engaged in June. (With input from agencies)