Ariana Grande Apologizes After Joking JonBenét Ramsey Would Make a Good ‘Halloween Look’

On July 29, pop star Ariana Grande publicly apologized to fans on Twitter after she made an insensitive joke about the late former beauty queen, JonBenét Ramsey.

It all started with Ariana’s friend Doug Middlebrook posted a picture of the former pageant star gracing the cover of a magazine with the caption, “No one has ever done more covers.” 

For those who don’t know JonBenét Ramsey, she is at the center of a 23-year-old murder case that has still yet to be solved. The 6-year-old  was found murdered in her parents’ home on December 26, 1996. The killer allegedly broke into their basement and snuck up to her bedroom where she was sleeping. Her body was later found in the basement of her own home.

The “7 Rings” singer commented on the distasteful post writing, “I can’t WAIT for this to be your Halloween look,” to which Doug responded, “Working on it [the costume] already.”

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One fan took to Twitter to out Ari and her friend by posting the Instagram pic in question and their convo in the comments. “Wait WHAT??  An 8-year-old girl who was violently killed, strangled and suffocated cannot be anyone’s costume … ,” wrote the disturbed user. To clarify, the child was 6 when she was murdered. After seeing his post, the “God is a Woman” singer shared her regret. “Yeah no I deleted it very quickly and understand that it’s not at all funny. This was out of pocket and I sincerely apologize,” responded Ariana.

Despite Ariana’s apology, the user decided to leave his post up as a teaching moment for those that make light of serious matters. “Yes Ariana apologized and it’s good to know that she NOW knows it was wrong to comment that,” read the tweet. “Just as she thought at first that it was a simple joke many people may think like her so I’m not deleting this tweet. A lot of people can learn from this.” The original Instagram picture has since been deleted.

This isn’t the first time Ari has sparked controversy. She infamously licked donuts in a display and said she hated America in a viral video in 2015. She later apologized in a YouTube video.