Imagine your ideal dinner guest. Maybe it’s a legendary figure, a beloved late family member, or a historical icon. For Ariana Grande, though, it’s Jeffrey Dahmer, and her choice has sparked outrage among fans who find her comments “offensive” and “disgusting.”
On the Podcrushed podcast last week, the Grammy winner, 31, revealed to hosts Penn Badgley, Sophie Ansari, and Nava Kaveli: “I was infatuated with serial killers when I was younger.” The “Yes, And?” singer then explained that she first shared this tidbit during a Q&A session with her “young fans.”
While the podcast hosts chuckled, many of Grande’s fans online did not share their amusement, with some accusing her of being “disrespectful” to the many victims of Dahmer’s notorious killing spree between 1978 and 1991.
Ariana Grande Comes Under Fire For 'Disrespectful' And 'Gross' Comments About Wanting To Meet Jeffrey Dahmer
Grande recalled during her podcast appearance: "It was in between me being Cat [on Sam & Cat] and pop stuff, so it was like a younger group, and they were with parents, and someone said, 'If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be?' I was like, 'Oh, you're so cute.'"
The Wicked actress remembered asking the parents for permission to answer honestly. They agreed. "They were like, 'Sure, what’s the answer?' and I was like, 'I mean, Jeffrey Dahmer is pretty fascinating.' I think I would have loved to have met him," she continued.
With a smile, the "We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)" hitmaker went on: "You know, maybe with a third party or someone involved. But I have questions."
On Reddit and X (formerly Twitter), fans began sharing their thoughts on Grande's comments soon after her Podcrushed appearance.
"This is so vile… I have a great interest in crime cases but the LAST thing I’d want to do is have dinner with a serial killer. Jeffrey Dahmer was a pedophile who murdered innocent people, mainly people of colour because he knew police wouldn’t take their disappearances as seriously," one user wrote on Reddit.
They added: "Joking about wanting to have dinner with him is sick and horribly offensive to the victims’ families, who are still alive and affected by the tragedy fyi. Let’s stop glorifying these psychos and pretending they are intensely enamoring people - they’re not, and if you met them in real life you would quickly realize why."
Someone else added in one of many threads about Grande's controversial moment: "That’s such a disgusting thing to say."
ariana saying that she was "infatuated" with serial killers when she was younger and that her dream dinner date would be with JEFFREY DAHMER???? why does nobody else find this incredibly weird pic.twitter.com/24TMz2JFHV
— neal BRAT (@lust4taylana) June 21, 2024
On X, another noted: "ariana saying that she was "infatuated" with serial killers when she was younger and that her dream dinner date would be with JEFFREY DAHMER???? why does nobody else find this incredibly weird?"
One other concurred, writing: "telling small children that your dream dinner date is with a cannibalistic mass murderer is normal?"
Grande has remained silent amidst the wave of backlash and reactions pouring in from thousands of her fans over her remarks.
