Ariana Grande’s comments seemingly glamorizing serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer earned her scathing criticism from the family of one of Dahmer’s victims.
In a June 17 episode of the “Podcrushed” podcast, the “Yes, And?” singer outlined her passion for true crime stories.
Grande, who told podcast hosts Sophie Ansari, Penn Badgley, and Nava Kavelin that she was “infatuated with serial killers when I was younger,” went on to recount an encounter with a young fan.
“It was in between me being Cat [referring to her role in the Nickelodeon TV show “Victorious”] and pop stuff, so it was like a younger group, and they were with parents, and someone said, ‘If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be?’” the singer recalled. “I mean, Jeffrey Dahmer is pretty fascinating.”
Dahmer, who killed at least 17 young men, mostly gay men of color, was examined by a 2022 Netflix documentary, which received its own slate of criticism for its depiction of Dahmer, and for the Dahmer idolization it spurred.
“I think I would have loved to have met him . . . I have questions,” the star went on to say.
Shirley Hughes, the mother of Dahmer victim Tony Hughes, blasted the singer for her comments.
“To me, it seems like she’s sick in her mind,” Hughes, whose son was brutally murdered in 1991, told TMZ. “It’s not fancy or funny to say you would have wanted to do dinner with him. It’s also not something you should say to young people, which she says she did.”
Per TMZ, Barbara Hughes, Tony’s sister, called for the "Wicked" lead to apologize for the remarks
