Yesterday, people all across the world were engrossed in the live broadcast of Aretha Franklin’s funeral. Even today, social media users are still reeling over the memes created from various moments during the eight-hour service. From the speakers and performers to certain outfits and even people fallin’ asleep, social media has had a field day with the “Queen of Soul’s” monumental homegoing celebration. But, there’s one segment in particular that still has people talkin’.
Ariana Grande’s performance has caused lots of chatter for a number of reasons. First, the singer was criticized for her dress, but now Pastor Charles H. Ellis, III is at the center of controversy.
The Devil In the Details:
We all know how it goes when you watch something. At first glance, you only catch the basics or what’s on the surface. But, when you go back and take a second look, you start to notice more details. Apparently, that’s what’s happened to Pastor Ellis.
According to The Jasmine Brand, the pastor who officiated Aretha Franklin’s funeral at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, has reportedly issued a statement of apology for his seemingly awkward onstage moment with Ariana Grande. For those who missed the star-studded funeral, Ariana did a musical tribute for Aretha Franklin performing a rendition of her 1968 hit “Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel).”
After the performance, she was joined by Pastor Ellis onstage. He shared his reaction to hearing about Ariana being invited to perform and he admitted he thought she was a new item on the menu at Taco Bell. “Funny moment during the #ArethaFranklinFuneral: Bishop Ellis tells @ArianaGrande when he saw her on the program he thought ‘it was a new something at Taco Bell.’”
Check out the full video of Ariana’s performance and her exchange with Pastor Ellis afterward:
Needless to say, this didn’t go over well with some viewers. Ariana’s fans and people from the Hispanic community quickly jumped on Twitter to share their reactions to Pastor Ellis’ words.
"Something on the menu at Taco Bell"? He does seem to think she's on the menu. Guessing, like most of us who have experienced this sort of thing (repeatedly), she felt trapped by her respect for the occasion.
— Band Geek is Overeducated! (@sfletcherdean) September 1, 2018
If that wasn’t awkward enough, the moment actually got a bit worse.
Inappropriate Touching?:
In addition to the Taco Bell statement, Pastor Ellis has also been accused of inappropriately touching Ariana. After the performance, he put his arm around the singer, and many people are arguing that he may have gotten a bit too close to her breast. As expected, there’s now a social media video pointing this out and people everywhere are sharing their reaction to it. The quick clip has sparked a heated debate with all types of accusations and some arguments in the pastor’s defense. Some have even accused Pastor Ellis of sexual assault while others have defended him.
Check out that video:
https://twitter.com/Trevornoah/status/1035676294548140032
Here are some of the responses:
Rather than putting the onus on her to tell him not to grope her in public, the responsibility lies entirely on him.
— zoskibb (@zoskibb) September 1, 2018
This is how men sexually assault women even as others are standing right next using their “good character” to get away with it. Glad this was caught on camera for all to see how it’s actually done
— Carole Williams (@carolewilliams) September 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/roger_hutchison/status/1035714116181209088
https://twitter.com/ThelmaMoa/status/1035876231642865666
I can vouch for Bishop Ellis. His words from God help me through a dark time. He’s a man of God and has daughter about her age
— James L. Patrick (@JamesLPatrick) August 31, 2018
Pastor Ellis Apologizes:
In wake of all the controversy regarding Pastor Ellis’ name and the placement of his hand, he’s opted to issue a statement of apology. He addressed the awkward situation and admitted that he may have been a bit too friendly.
“It would never be my intention to touch any woman’s breast. … I don’t know I guess I put my arm around her. Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologize.”
He went on to share that he’d greeted and hugged all of the performers insisting it was “all about love.”
“I hug all the female artists and the male artists,” Ellis said. “Everybody that was up, I shook their hands and hugged them. That’s what we are all about in the church. We are all about love. The last thing I want to do is to be a distraction to this day. This is all about Aretha Franklin.”
Pastor Ellis also made it a point to address his Taco Bell remark with words of apology. “I personally and sincerely apologize to Ariana and to her fans and to the whole Hispanic community. When you’re doing a program for nine hours you try to keep it lively, you try to insert some jokes here and there.”
We all know Pastor Ellis likely meant no harm, but in the world of social media, there will always be scrutiny. At least he quickly squashed the situation. Ariana Grande has yet to speak about the incident.
