Pop singer Ariana Grande has had to disable comments on her Instagram account after being swamped by deluge of abusive messages accusing her of being responsible for the death of her ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller, on Friday (US time).

After initially remaining silent about her former partner’s sudden death from a suspected drug overdose, the pop princess has now paid a wordless tribute to the platinum-selling hip-hop artist.

The No Tears Left To Cry singer, 25, posted a captionless black and white photograph of Miller looking up at the camera on her Instagram account, with the comments function still disabled.

No words needed: The captionless tribute photo of Mac Miller posted by his ex Ariana Grande. Photo: Instagram

Miller, 26, was found unresponsive at his home in Los Angeles on Friday.

The twosome dated for around two years before breaking up earlier this year, with Grande announcing on social media that she had no choice because the relationship had turned “toxic”.

At the time, she said the ruptured couple still shared “unconditional love” and praised her ex as “one of my best friends in the whole world”.

But Miller’s fans scoffed at the singer’s kind words, focusing instead on her criticisms of his emotional maturity and substance abuse.

Ariana Grande plants a wet one on Mac Miller’s cheek shortly before their affair went sour. Photo: Instagram

Women should not feel the need to be a babysitter or mother for their partners, Grande said.

“I have cared for him and tried to support his sobriety and prayed for his balance for years [and always will, of course] but shaming/blaming women for a man’s inability to keep his s–t together is a very major problem. Let’s please stop doing that,” she said on Twitter.

“Of course I didn’t share about how hard or scary it was while it was happening, but it was.

“I will continue to pray from the bottom of my heart that he figures it all out and that any other woman in this position does as well.”

Miller performed with Grande at a memorial concert following the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing and the pair released music together before their split earlier this year.

In a statement, Miller’s family hailed him as a “bright light in this world for his family, friends and fans”.

Ed Sheeran, Drake, Chance The Rapper and Post Malone were among a stream of stars to pay tribute to the “great talent”, who released his fifth studio album, Swimming, last month. Variety reviewed it favourably as “a simple, stately, poetic autobiography”.

Less than 24 hours before his death, Miller had spoken of his eagerness to go on tour and play his new material for fans.

“I wish it started tomorrow,” he said on Thursday.

Miller and Grande collaborated on her first top-10 hit, the multi-platinum, The Way, which propelled her from teen TV stardom to pop sensation. They dated for two years before their relationship ended in May.

Ariana Grande and Mac Miller’s relationship ended in May. Photo: Getty

Not long after the split, Miller was charged with drunk driving and hit-and-run after police said he struck a power pole and fled the scene. His blood alcohol level was reportedly twice the legal limit.

“I made a stupid mistake. I’m a human being,” Miller said at the time.

“But it was the best thing that could have happened. I needed that. I needed to run into that light pole and literally have the whole thing stop.”

While Miller didn’t have a hit on Top 40 radio, he had a strong following on streaming networks and even had an album debut at No 1 on the top 200 albums chart.

He often alluded to his battles with addiction while collaborating with numerous performers, including Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne and Ty Dolla $ign.

The Pittsburgh native, born Malcolm McCormick, rose to fame with a frat-rap attitude in his mix-tapes like Best Day Ever and his full-length album debut, 2011’s Blue Slide Park. His more goofy songs included Nikes on My Feet, Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza and Knock Knock.

One of his biggest songs was the 2011 platinum-certified mix-tape track Donald Trump, which prompted a feud with the then-future president.

He urged fans not to vote for Mr Trump, who at the time was considering running for president, and publicly supported the Black Lives Matter movement.

-with AAP