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.
Men really need to get their sh*t together pic.twitter.com/AEqr7aAi1m
— ???? (@EXOTICBLVCKSKIN) September 1, 2018
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.
This entire thing was so gross, he’s squeezing the side of Ariana’s body https://t.co/aBHlH6dKV5
— Ira (@ira) August 31, 2018
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.
I think every woman can look at Ariana Grande's face and body language and viscerally feel what she's feeling. The tension. The nervous laughter. Not wanting to make a scene or make him angry. Every woman knows this feeling.
But google her and everyone's talking about her dress. https://t.co/VYikD43RnM
— Maggie Astor (@MaggieAstor) September 1, 2018
this is so disgusting what he did and she also got gross looks from clinton or whatever is his last name plus she got criticized bc of a dress?! wtf is this?! women can wear whatever they want. ari or any woman doesn’t deserve this #RespectAriana i hope u r okay @ArianaGrande pic.twitter.com/foao7Qu1IX
— – ariana grande ????♡ (@notearsforari) September 1, 2018
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
This article was originally published on The Daily Dot.