Ariana Grande has set the donut aside to clarify her controversial comments about America.
The former Nickelodeon star and “Love Me Harder” singer has issued an apology, after generating controversy with comments made at a donut shop.
In the past few days, a video of Grande appearing to say “I hate Americans” and “I hate America” have generated headlines and anger on the internet; however, Grande reasserted her patriotism with a statement Wednesday, declaring, “I am EXTREMELY proud to be an American and I’ve always made it clear that I love my county.”
Grande went on to say that her comments were “taken out of context,” but she is nonetheless “sorry for not using more discretion with my choice of words.”
The singer went on to cite her advocacy for healthy eating and her frustration over America’s child obesity rate.
“As an advocate for healthy eating, food is very important to me and I sometimes get upset by how freely we as Americans eat and consume things without giving any thought to the consequences that it has on our health and society as a whole,” Grande said. “The fact that the United States has the highest child obesity rate in the world frustrates me. We need to do more to educate ourselves and our children about the dangers of overeating and the poison that we put into our bodies.”
Grande also called on the public to “demand more from our food industry.”
Mind you, Grande and her companion also appeared to lick donuts that were on display at the donut counter, so unless they were trying to save others by tainting the donuts with their saliva, they might be part of the problem.
On Wednesday, Grande was replaced by Demi Lovato at Saturday’s MLB All-Star Concert in Cincinnati. She clarified in her statement, ” I have had emergency oral surgery and due to recovery I cannot attend the show. I hope to make it up to all those fans soon.”
Grande wound up her statement with another mea culpa, saying, “let me once again apologize if I have offended anyone with my poor choice of words.”
Read the full statement below.
“I am EXTREMELY proud to be an American and I’ve always made it clear that I love my county. What I said in a private moment with my friend, who was buying the donuts, was taken out of context and I am sorry for not using more discretion with my choice of words. As an advocate for healthy eating, food is very important to me and I sometimes get upset by how freely we as Americans eat and consume things without giving any thought to the consequences that it has on our health and society as a whole. The fact that the United States has the highest child obesity rate in the world frustrates me. We need to do more to educate ourselves and our children about the dangers of overeating and the poison that we put into our bodies. We need to demand more from our food industry. However I should have known better in how I expressed myself; and with my new responsibility to others as a public figure I will strive to be better. As for why I cannot be at the MLB show, I have had emergency oral surgery and due to recovery I cannot attend the show. I hope to make it up to all those fans soon. That being said let me once again apologize if I have offended anyone with my poor choice of words.”
Watch the video of the incident at the donut shop below.