Here’s Why The Bishop From Aretha Franklin’s Funeral Had To Apologise To Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande had the pleasure of performing at the great Aretha Franklin’s funeral this weekend, and hit it out of the park as per usual.

But it was the antics (or wandering hand) of the Bishop performing the ceremony that had Ari’s fan up in arms following the performance.

Bishop Charles H. Ellis III greeted the star on stage after her rendition of You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman, and some say he touched her inappropriately by putting his hand around her waist.

Since the scenes were aired, the hashtag #RespectAriana began trending, and Bishop Charles has now come out to explain his actions.

“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 told the Associated Press. “Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologize.

“I hug all the female artists and the male artists. Everybody that was up, I shook their hands and hugged them. That’s what we are all about in the church. We are all about love. The last thing I want to do is to be a distraction to this day. This is all about Aretha Franklin.”

Not only did the Bishop have to apologize for his inapropriate touching of Pete Davidson’s fiancee, he also had to clarify an awkard, racially insensitive joke he made about the No Tears Left To Cry singers name.

During the program on Friday, Ellis said to Ariana, “I’ve got to apologize because I have to brush up my — my 28-year-old daughter tells me, ‘Dad, you are old at 60.’”

“What did you do? What happened?” Grande asked, laughing.

“When I saw Ariana Grande on the program, I thought that was a new something at Taco Bell,” said Ellis. “Girl, let me give you all your respect.”

All jokes aside, this comment did not go down well on social media, with fans calling for Ellis to apologize and be respectful during a time of mourning.

“I personally and sincerely apologize to Ariana and to her fans and to the whole Hispanic community. When you’re doing a program for nine hours you try to keep it lively, you try to insert some jokes here and there.” was the Bishop’s response in the same AP interview.

We think there’s a time and a place for that sort of jokey behavior, and a funeral really does not fall under that bracket….

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• Ariana Grande