DNC Leak Holds Weird Ariana Grande Footnote

Turns out that doughnut-licking incident cost her
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 26, 2016 10:41 AM CDT
DNC Leak Holds Weird Ariana Grande Footnote
Ariana Grande arrives at the Billboard Music Awards at the T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, May 22, 2016, in Las Vegas.   (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

One of the weirder revelations from the WikiLeaks release of hacked DNC emails: Ariana Grande lost out on a White House gig thanks to her doughnut-licking incident, the Guardian reports. Last July, the singer was caught on security video licking doughnuts at a doughnut shop and saying she hated America (an incident for which she later apologized). Among the leaked emails is a September 2015 exchange between the DNC finance chair and the DNC deputy compliance director with regard to vetting Grande for a White House performance.

"Ariana Butera-video caught her licking other peoples’ donuts while saying she hates America,” the deputy compliance director wrote (Butera is Grande's actual last name). “Republican Congressman used this video and said it was a double standard that liberals were not upset with her like they are with Trump who criticized Mexicans; cursed out a person on Twitter after that person used an offensive word towards her brother." A White House staffer's subsequent response to the request for Grande to get the gig, per Fox News: "Nope, sorry." Apparently all was eventually forgiven, because Billboard reports Grande was asked to perform at the DNC this week but declined due to scheduling conflicts. (More Ariana Grande stories.)

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