Ariana Grande was subjected to an extremely uncomfortable moment of public groping at Aretha Franklin’s funeral on Friday. Photos and video clips circulating on Twitter showed Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, who led the service, grabbing onto the singer for an extended period of time.
#RespectAriana is tending worldwide right now because Bishop Charles H. Ellis III was seen inappropriately groping Ariana Grande on live tv during Aretha Franklins funeral.
— saige😮💨 (@seasonedwsaige) September 1, 2018
Men really need to get their sh*t together pic.twitter.com/AEqr7aAi1m
Ellis apologized Saturday for being “too friendly” with Grande, the Associated Press reports.
“It would never be my intention to touch any woman’s breast. … I don’t know I guess I put my arm around her,” Ellis said. “Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologize.”
Onlookers were aghast at the unwarranted touching.
https://twitter.com/ira/status/1035677891059757057
People on Twitter had also criticized Grande for the length of her dress, saying it was inappropriate for church. But no dress length (nor any outfit, for that matter) warrants being touched.
https://twitter.com/MaggieAstor/status/1035716985764687877
https://twitter.com/notearsforari/status/1035692460062728192
Ellis also worked in a tasteless joke about Grande’s name, saying that when he saw her name on the program, he thought it was a Taco Bell menu item. He apologized for that, too.
“I personally and sincerely apologize to Ariana and to her fans and to the whole Hispanic community,” Ellis said. “When you’re doing a program for nine hours you try to keep it lively, you try to insert some jokes here and there.”
Needless to say, the whole encounter was hard to watch.
H/T Associated Press