Pastor accused of groping Grande issues apology

A senior pastor of a megachurch in Detroit who was accused of groping singer Ariana Grande during Aretha Franklin’s funeral service on Friday has apologized.

“It would never be my intention to touch any woman’s breast,” the pastor, Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, told the Associated Press. “Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologize.”

Grande was one of several performers at the funeral at the Greater Grace Temple who was paying tribute to the Queen of Soul. She had just finished singing “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” but as she began to leave the stage, Grande was called back by the bishop.

He joked about how he was unaware of Grande’s work.

“When I saw Ariana Grande at the program, I thought that was a new something at Taco Bell,” he said, his arm around her waist as his fingers remained pressed into her chest.

“Girl, let me give you all your respect,” he said, pulling her in for a hug.

For many, there was no question what had just happened.

“I don’t care what you think about Ariana Grande, her music or her dress. This is wrong. That bishop’s hand should not be on her breast,” author Mona Eltahawy wrote on Twitter, her post accompanied by a video of the episode that has been viewed more than 2 million times.