Ariana Grande will not be facing criminal charges for an incident in a bakery which was captured on film that later went viral. The bakery's owners "declined to press criminal charges against Ms. Grande," Michael Vasquez, deputy sheriff at Riverside County Sheriff's Department, told People magazine.
The singer has apologised to her fans after she was filmed licking a doughnut and then declaring her hatred for America while in a shop with her new boyfriend. The video caused California police and public health officials to launch an investigation into the shop, and saw Wolfee Donuts receive a B rating from the health inspector.
Ariana, 22, has faced a backlash ever since the short clip went viral, and this week issued a statement addressing the controversy. "I am extremely proud to be an American and I've always made it clear that I love my country," she told Buzzfeed. "What I said in a private moment with my friend, who was buying the doughnuts, was taken out of context and I am sorry for not using more discretion with my choice of words.
"I sometimes get upset by how freely we as Americans eat and consume things without giving any thought to the consequences that it has on our health as a whole. "Describing herself as an "advocate for healthy eating", Ariana went on to speak of her frustration that the United States has one of the highest child obesity rates – before apologising for her actions. "We need to do more to educate ourselves and our children about the dangers of overeating and the poison we put in our bodies. We need to demand more from our food industry," she said. "However, I should have known better in how I expressed myself and my new responsibility to others as a public figure. I will strive to be better."
Ariana later published a video on YouTube to apologise to her fans once again. Acknowledging that she might have been "too busy preaching about issues with the food industry to actually sincerely apologise", the star said that watching her own actions back in the clip had been a "rude awakening"."I was so disgusted with myself, I like wanted to shove my face into a pillow and like disappear," she said. "But instead of that I'm going to come forward and own up to what I did and take responsibility and say I'm sorry because I reacted in a way that I feel wasn't necessary to say the least, but also just wasn't me at all."