Wicked actress Ariana Grande is under fire for her recent comments naming serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer as her dream dinner date.
The mother of one of Dahmer's victims expressed outrage at Grande's remarks, deeming them inappropriate and insensitive.
Shirley Hughes, the mother of Anthony "Tony" Hughes, one of Dahmer's victims, condemned Grande's choice of words.
Hughes told 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. It’s also not something you should say to young people, which she says she did."
Tony, who was deaf and didn't speak, tragically fell victim to Dahmer in 1991 when he was drugged and killed by the infamous killer. Shirley and Tony's sister, Barbara, joined in criticizing Grande's remarks.
Barbara emphasized the need for Grande to be more considerate of the victims' families.
The victim's sister underlined that Grande's comments only served to glorify the infamous murderer who was eventually beaten to death in prison in 1994. She expressed a desire for Grande to acknowledge the impact of her words and issue an apology, particularly to her fanbase, telling them that her comments were "unacceptable."
Barbara remarked, "Unfortunately, until it happens to her and her family, she just doesn't know what we have been through."
Grande's controversial statements arose during her appearance on Penn Badgley's Podcrushed podcast. Reflecting on her past fascination with serial killers, Grande mentioned being intrigued by Dahmer.
She shared an anecdote from a Q&A session where she candidly expressed interest in meeting Dahmer.
“I was like, ‘Oh, you’re so cute. Mom and Dad, is it OK if I give the real answer?’ And 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. Y’know, maybe with a third party or someone involved. But I have questions,” she told Badgley.
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During the same podcast, Grande told the host that she was "preprocessing" some of her memories on the sets of Victorious and Sam & Cat in light of the groundbreaking documentary Quiet on Set.
“Specifically about our show, I think that was something that we were convinced was the cool thing about us — is that we pushed the envelope with our humor,” she explained to Badgley.
“And the innuendos were … it was, like, the cool differentiation. And I don’t know, I think it just all happened so quickly, and now looking back on some of the clips, I’m like, ‘D---, really? Oh, s---’ … and the things that weren’t approved for the network were snuck onto, like, our website or whatever,” she continued, adding, “I guess I’m upset, yeah.”