Ariana Grande recently appeared on Penn Badgley’s Podcrushed podcast. That was where she dramatically changed her entire voice in a matter of seconds. Well, people are still going through the whole interview and they found a particularly problematic section where Ari talked about her youthful obsession with serial killers. One serial killer in particular: Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed 17 people (that we know about).
Ariana Grande had a fascination with Jeffrey Dahmer when she was younger, and the admission is rattling some of her fans. The Eternal Sunshine singer was a guest on Penn Badgley’s Podcrushed this month, where Grande shocked the hosts with a story about how she once revealed to her fans that Dahmer was her dream dinner date. Grande was asked about serial killers in relation to the supervillain theme of “The Boy Is Mine” music video, which stars Badgley.
“I knew someone was gonna say this,” she said with a laugh just before the 30:00 mark. “‘What’s this pattern, do we need to talk about this pattern here?’ Maybe there’s something to look at. No, I’m kidding… No, but I was infatuated with serial killers when I was younger. Mmhmm. It’s not nothing. … I’m serious.”
Grande told a fascinated Badgley and his Podcrushed co-hosts Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari that she had a story that was “not funny” but perhaps “fine” to share. Ariana once held a Q&A with young fans between her time on Sam & Cat and becoming a pop star and was asked about which living or dead person she’d want to have dinner with.
“I was like, ‘Oh, you’re so cute. Who, um—mom and dad, is it okay if I give the real answer?’ And they were like, ‘Sure, I guess, what’s the answer?’ And I was like, ‘Um, Jeffrey Dahmer’s pretty fascinating, I think I would have loved to have met him. Like, you know, maybe with a third party or something. I have questions I want to…I have a lot to…I don’t know, I would love to…’ And the parents were like, ‘We’ll explain it later, sweetheart.’ And I was like, ‘I’ll just sing “Problem” and go home.’”
What the hell is wrong with her? There’s this whole thing with women (mostly white women) being fascinated by serial killers and obsessively listening to true-crime podcasts and all of that. But I’ve always hoped that for most women, their interest in serial killers is from an investigative and criminal justice perspective, not “wow, serial killers are cool, I’d love to meet one!” And saying she wants to have dinner with one of the most famous cannibals in American history?? Disgusting. Well, the families of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims are mad about it. As they should be!
The family of one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims is speaking out, slamming Ariana Grande for once saying she’d be interested in having a sit down with the late serial killer. That revelation does not sit well with the loved ones of Tony Hughes — a deaf, non-verbal victim Dahmer targeted and killed in 1991.
Shirley, Tony’s mother, tells TMZ … she hopes Ariana understands how hurtful her comments are, noting the confession made her emotional. She was also disturbed when Ariana laughed during the podcast about her Dahmer fascination. Shirley wants the singer, and the general public, to know she and other victims’ families experience very real pain any time Dahmer is brought up.
She adds … “To me, it seems like she’s sick in her mind. It’s not fancy or funny to say you would have wanted to do dinner with him. It’s also not something you should say to young people, which she says she did.”
Shirley says she finds it troubling Ari didn’t seem to show any empathy for the victims’ loved ones. Tony’s sister, Barbara, shares a similar sentiment … saying the comments glamorize Dahmer, who was beaten to death in prison in 1994. She’d love to see Ariana apologize, so her fans know this isn’t right.
Ari absolutely deserves all of this criticism. She should apologize. But mostly, she needs to stop talking about this kind of twisted sh-t. Once again, it’s not like someone merely having an amateur interest in famous serial killers, it’s that Ariana wishes she could HAVE DINNER with Dahmer and that she thinks that’s a story which is funny or quirky.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.