Ariana Grande has been a leading name in the music industry. With her iconic use of whistle register and unique vocal range, she has amassed a widespread fanbase and numerous accolades. But the 7 Rings singer presently finds herself amidst a massive controversy after recalling an old story from her early career, involving Jeffrey Dahmer.
Jeffrey Dahmer symbolizes a dark phase in America’s past. The Wisconsin-born late individual was a notorious serial killer who killed and dismembered at least 17 males between 1978 to 1991. In the wake of Ariana Grande’s comments, the family of the late Tony Hughes, a deaf and mute victim of Jeffrey Dahmer, slammed the Grammy winner for her insensitive attitude.
Ariana Grande’s fascination with Jeffrey Dahmer leads her into trouble
Ariana Grande‘s revelation came recently after she visited Penn Badgley’s Podcrushed podcast. She recalled a story from her early career when during a Q&A with young fans, she was asked to name anybody (living or dead), she would love to have dinner with. Grande admitted that she “was infatuated with serial killers” and stated about her wish to have a dinner date with Jeffrey Dahmer.
I was like, ‘I mean, Jeffrey Dahmer is pretty fascinating. I think I would have loved to have met him. Y’know, maybe with a third party or someone involved. But I have questions.’
While numerous people are often fascinated by the stories of serial killers, the idea of a hypothetical dinner date with the Milwaukee Cannibal did not sit well with the fans. As the entire internet was already slamming Grande for such an attitude, the family of Tony Hughes showed no mercy to the Wicked actress.
Anthony “Tony” Hughes was one of the 17 victims of Jeffrey Dahmer. The deaf and mute man was murdered by Jeffrey Dahmer in May 1991, at the age of 31. Hughes’ mother Shirley Hughes has gone full ballistic on Ariana Grande for her nonchalant comments and said to TMZ– “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.” Mrs. Hughes added that Grande should not have said such things before her young fans.
Tony Hughes’ sister Barbara also joined in the criticism and asserted that Ariana Grande’s comments glamorize a monster. She stated that the hitmaker could never understand the situation.
Unfortunately, until it happens to her and her family, she just doesn’t know what we have been through.
As if the comments were not enough to bring the Yes, And? singer under extensive public scrutiny, her laughing during the discussion raised several eyebrows including Shirley Hughes’.
Ariana Grande’s comments bring out a dark side of the media
For a pop icon with so many hits and accolades under her name, Ariana Grande is not new to controversies. Her personal life had climbed to the headlines numerous times. But the recent backlash is very different, as the popular songwriter should have remembered about the implications of her comments to her worldwide fans.
But it also brings back one of the biggest controversies from 2022 when Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was released on Netflix. The biographical web series was met with intense criticism, notably from the victims’ families. Even Shirley Hughes openly criticized the OTT giant for profiting from the grief of so many people. She said to The Guardian:
I don’t see how they can do that. I don’t see how they can use our names and put stuff out like that out there.
According to Insider, victim Erroll Lindsey’s sister Rita Isbell also called out Netflix as harsh and careless for their greedy behavior of capitalizing on the tragedy. Although creator Ryan Murphy defended the show, a large section of the audience called out the show for being insensitive to the victims’ families.
