Image Source: Melissa Rose, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What Was the Accusation?
In July 2015, singer Ariana Grande became the subject of widespread criticism after surveillance footage from a California doughnut shop showed her apparently licking doughnuts that she had not purchased. In the same recording, Grande was heard saying that she hated Americans and America. The combination of her conduct around food intended for customers and her remarks about the country generated extensive media coverage and public backlash. Grande subsequently issued a written statement in which she apologized for her language and explained that her comments reflected frustration with unhealthy eating habits in the United States.
Grande followed the written statement with a video apology in July. In that response, she acknowledged that her original explanation had not adequately communicated her remorse. She described seeing footage of herself behaving badly as a “rude awakening,” said she was disgusted with her own conduct, and apologized for both her behavior and her comments. The controversy continued to follow Grande, however, and she addressed it publicly again two months later during a September 15 appearance on Good Morning America.
The Good Morning America interview represented a distinct stage in Grande’s image-repair effort because she no longer attempted to explain the incident through concerns about food, obesity, or American eating habits. Instead, she characterized her behavior as offensive and said there was “nothing to justify it.” Grande emphasized the consequences of disappointing people who supported her and said the experience taught her to consider the ramifications of her words and actions. She also placed the mistake within a broader process of learning and personal growth. The interview therefore shifted the emphasis from explaining why the incident occurred to accepting responsibility and identifying what she believed she had learned from it. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
Key Apologia Strategies
Mortification, Corrective Action, Defeasibility
Video
N/A
Transcript
Excerpts from Ariana Grande’s Good Morning America Interview — September 15, 2015:
“First of all, I mean, my behavior was very offensive, and I apologized. There’s no excuse or there’s nothing to justify it.”
“I think that as human beings we all say and do things that we don’t mean at all sometimes and we have to learn from it, I mean, it’s part of our process. We have to learn from our mistakes and that’s how we grow.”
“I think one of the biggest things I learned from that was what it feels like to disappoint so many people who love and believe in you. And that’s an excruciating feeling.”
“You have to remember that your words, your actions, have, you know, ramifications and you have to really think about what you’re about to say and do because it’s important. It’s important to so many people.”
