Ariana Grande's Aretha Franklin Funeral Performance

Overview

Ariana Grande's Aretha Franklin Funeral Performance refers to a musical performance by Ariana Grande at a funeral for Aretha Franklin held in late August 2018.

Background

On August 31st, 2018, Grande performed the song "Natural Woman" at Aretha Franklin's funeral (shown below, left). Following the performance, Grande joined Bishop Charles Ellis at a podium, where he thanked her for the performance (shown below, right).

Developments

Online Reaction

Shortly after the performance, a video of Grande and the pastor was submitted to /r/videos^[2] with the title "Ariana Grande groped by pastor at Aretha Franklin's funeral." Within 72 hours, the post gained over 58,400 points (81% upvoted) and 6,700 comments. Meanwhile, YouTuber Daytime Tea Time uploaded a video which criticized Grande's funeral attire (shown below).

Bill Clinton

Following the performance, Twitter user @SupaCrankIt posted photographs of Bill Clinton at the funeral along with the message "Ariana Grande & that black dress brought Bill Clinton back to life" (shown below).

On September 2nd, Redditor smellslikesneaks posted a "Distracted Boyfriend": photoshop in which Clinton is shown leering at Grande as "Hillary Clinton": looks on in dismay (shown below). Within 48 hours, the post accumulated more than 3,500 points (97% upvoted) on /r/dankmemes.^[3]

Bishop Ellis' Apology

On September 1st, 2018, The Guardian uploaded a video of Ellis apologizing for the to Grande for the incident, claiming he did not intentionally grab her in an inappropriate manner (shown below). Within 48 hours, the video garnered upwards of 2.8 million views and 9,700 comments.

Search Interest

External References