Ariana's Doughnut Video Is Under Investigation

In an event that I shall henceforth refer to as #DoughnutGate, former Broadway and Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande is under fire for an incident involving doughnuts and a shocking lack of patriotism. I refer, of course, to the leaked video of Grande licking doughnuts and claiming, "I hate Americans. I hate America." The pop star later apologized for her remarks, blaming that burst of anger on "how freely we as Americans eat and consume things without giving any thought to the consequences that it has on our health and society as a whole." (She didn't apologize for licking the doughnuts, however, but that's neither here nor there.) Now, there is reportedly a police investigation into Grande's doughnut video going on, elevating #DoughnutGate to a whole new level. Bustle reached out to Grande for comment, but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Police in Lake Elsinore, California, where the doughnut shop is located, said they and Riverside County public health officials were investigating the leaked video, which appeared to show the 22-year-old singer and a man with her 'maliciously lick' the doughnuts." US Weekly reports that spokeswoman for Riverside County Department of Environmental Health, Dottie Ellis-Merki, states "the agency was investigating why the doughnuts were left out unprotected and exposed to the public, in violation of state food laws, but added that their investigators found no further issues at the shop on Wednesday."

"During the investigation, the manager did state they normally don’t leave doughnuts out like was shown in the video,” said Ellis-Merki to AP in an email. "The employee went to the back to retrieve freshly made doughnuts by request of the customer and left the trays out while getting other trays." While the investigation moves onward, Grande's apology is the only statement that the pop singer has made about the event to this point. Read it again below.

I am EXTREMELY proud to be an American and I’ve always made it clear that I love my county. 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. As an advocate for healthy eating, food is very important to me and 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 and society as a whole. The fact that the United States has the highest child obesity rate in the world frustrates me. We need to do more to educate ourselves and our children about the dangers of overeating and the poison that we put into our bodies. We need to demand more from our food industry. However I should of [sic] known better in how I expressed myself; and with my new responsibility to others as a public figure I will strive to be better. As for why I cannot be at the MLB show, I have had emergency oral surgery and due to recovery I cannot attend the show. I hope to make it up to all those fans soon. That being said let me once again apologize if I have offended anyone with my poor choice of words.