Los Angeles, California - Ariana Grande's sudden exit from a previously promised American Horror Story Season 13 appearance has Hollywood talking! Now, series creator Ryan Murphy has broken his silence.

Murphy chatted with the Hollywood Reporter on Friday to give the lowdown on Ari's sudden backout from the project.

"I love Ariana Grande. We’re great friends. I had an idea, and I came to her and she, very immediately, said, 'I’m not sure because I think I’m going on tour,'" the director explained.

"I don’t think the tour had been announced, and she had obviously just finished the 'Wicked' movie. So when it came time to do that episode, I called her up, and she was like, 'I don’t know how I’m going to juggle the tour with this.'"

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According to Murphy, he offered to push her appearance to another season, and she agreed.

The producer also noted his and Ariana's shared love of the horror genre, having previously worked with the Eternal Sunshine singer in the TV series Scream Queens.

"She's obviously done homages of that in her work," he said, with Ari's various music videos indeed taking on a horror movie-inspired vibe.

This comes after the pop star's team announced her intention to step away from public life after the end of her Eternal Sunshine tour on September 1.

She then backed out of her West End debut – a revival of Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George.

Murphy said that he was "respectful" of Ari's decision not to join AHS, voicing his support for her and desire to work with her again.

"Who is busier than Ariana Grande? No one," he asked.

"She had told me at the time, 'I have this album that’s dropping.' It was really, truly a scheduling conflict," Murphy added.