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Ariana Grande calling Jeffrey Dahmer dream dinner guest slammed by victim's mom
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Date:2025-04-14 06:40:36
Ariana Grande controversial Jeffrey Dahmer comments are sparking backlash from one of his victim's families.
After Grande appeared on Penn Badgley's "Podcrushed" podcast and told the "Gossip Girl" alum and his co-host that the serial killer and sex offender was her dream dinner guest, victim Anthony "Tony" Hughes' mom Shirley Hughes spoke to TMZ about the controversial comments.
"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," Shirley Hughes told TMZ.
Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 people.These are the victims and what we knew about them
Hughes told TMZ she hoped that Grande understands how hurtful her words were, adding that the pop star's podcast admission made her emotional.
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Hughes, who was 31 at the time of his disappearance, was last seen May 24, 1991. He was also deaf, a condition brought on after a battle with pneumonia as an infant. Most of Dahmer's victims were men or boys of color and the youngest of his reported victims were just 14 at the time of their disappearances.
On "Podcrushed," Grande described how she talked about her Dahmer fascination to a group of children.
"It was in between me being Cat (on Nickelodeon comedy '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?'" Grande recalled.
She continued: "I was like, 'Oh honey, you're so cute' ... They were like, 'Sure, what's the answer?' and I was like, 'I mean, Jeffrey Dahmer is pretty fascinating.'
"The parents were like, 'we'll explain it later, sweetheart,' and I was like, 'I'll just sing 'Problem' and go home,'" the "We Can't Be Friends" singer said, referring to her 2014 pop hit with rapper Iggy Azalea.
Ariana Grande previously made controversial 'I hate Americans' comments
In 2015, Grande made headlines in a video caught by a California donut shop's security camera.
TMZ reported that Grande licked a tray of donuts alongside ex-boyfriend, backup dancer Ricky Alvarez, and kissed on camera. Then, after an employee brought out a tray of fresh donuts, Grande said: "What the (expletive) is that? I hate Americans. I hate America."
"I am EXTREMELY proud to be an American and I've always made it clear that I love my country," said Grande in a statement sent to USA TODAY at the time. "What I said in a private moment with my friend, who was buying the donuts, was taken out of context and I am sorry for not using more discretion with my choice of words."
Contributing: Andrea Mandell
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