Search icon

Music

01st Sep 2018

Bishop apologises for inappropriately touching Ariana Grande

Carl Kinsella

Ariana Grande

It was a very awkward interaction.

Bishop Charles H Ellis III has apologised for appearing to grope singer Ariana Grande at a memorial service for Aretha Franklin.

The bishop was on stage with Grande at a memorial concert for Franklin, who died in August. Grande performed Franklin’s beloved hit ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’.

However, many commentators noticed that Ellis’ hand was wrapped around the side of Grande’s chest, and that she appeared to be in very clear discomfort.

Ellis now apologised for the interaction.

“It would never be my intention to touch any woman’s breast,” Ellis told the Associated Press. “Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar. But again, I apologise. That’s the easiest thing for me to do, that’s the right thing for me to do, and I hope she will forgive me.”

Ellis also made a joke about Grande’s name, saying that when he first heard it he thought it was a new item on the menu at Taco Bell.

Topics:

ariana grande