A senior pastor of a megachurch in Detroit who was accused of groping the singer Ariana Grande during Aretha Franklin’s funeral service on Friday has apologized.
“It would never be my intention to touch any woman’s breast,” the pastor, Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, told The Associated Press. “Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologize.”
“When I saw Ariana Grande at the program, I thought that was a new something at Taco Bell,” he said, his arm around her waist as his fingers remained pressed into the right side of her chest for more than 30 seconds. Ms. Grande laughed. (Her fourth album, “Sweetener,” has topped the Billboard charts three weeks in a row.)
“Girl, let me give you all your respect,” he said, pulling her in for a hug.
“Did you all enjoy this icon?” he asked the crowd, referring to Ms. Grande’s performance. “She’s an icon herself.”
For many, there was no question what had just happened.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/arts/music/ariana-grande-funeral-groping-bishop-ellis.html
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