“It was very offensive. I had all the celebrities who I had ever come to my show — and there was a ton — were always gracious and kind, and, um, she was not,” she claims of Grande, before weighing in on the singer’s apology.
Cassandra Peterson — who’s best known by her spooky alter ego, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark — is reflecting on her publicly calling out Ariana Grande last year, and is sharing her thoughts on the Wicked star’s apology.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, published on Friday, the 74-year-old performer called Grande’s alleged past behavior “very offensive,” and “sad,” and expressed her hope that the singer will learn “lessons” in the future.
Last October, Peterson opened up about her “worst celebrity encounter” while speaking to a crowd, which was shown in a video that went viral on social media, and Peterson reposted it on Instagram.
“She came and she brought 20 guests, so she wanted 20, 21 tickets. We’re like, ‘OK,’ and we give her the tickets. She comes backstage and she asks if I could take pictures with all of her friends and relatives [whom] she brought,'” she said at the time. “I take a picture with every single one of them. I sign autographs for every single one of them. Then I say to her, ‘Can we take a photo together?’ She goes, ‘Nah, I don’t really do that.'”
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
Grande later commented on Peterson’s Instagram post, and addressed her claims, writing that she felt “so disheartened to see this.”
“i actually don’t even remember getting the chance to meet you because i had an anxiety attack and to my memory, left before the rest of my family (this was around 7 years ago and at the time i was really not great with being in public crowds or loud places) …,” she continued, seemingly referring to the PTSD she suffered in the wake of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, “but if i’m misremembering this moment, i sincerely apologize for offending you so.”
“thank you for being so nice to my mom, she told me how lovely you were (she might have different feelings about that now but i’ll talk to her… clearly, we all have our days!),” Grande added, before concluding, “sending love always. ♡ you’ll always be our queen of halloween!”
She appeared to later remove her comment.
While speaking with EW, Peterson said she has not spoken to Grande since she shared the comment, and the former noted that she wasn’t satisfied with the actress’ apology.
Elvira Says She ‘Begged for Years’ for This Collab, Reveals Only One She’s Turned Down (Exclusive)
View Story
“What’s the word? You know, where you do something, but you really have other thoughts in mind? Like, ‘Thank you, not really, thank you,'” she said, before bringing up Grande’s comment about how “her mom used to really like me, but maybe not now.”
“After that response from her, no, I just let the whole thing drop,” Peterson continued. “I told a story that really happened. She did it. I wasn’t making it up. It was very offensive. I had all the celebrities who I had ever come to my show — and there was a ton — were always gracious and kind, and, um, she was not. I’m sorry to say that. It’s disappointing when you hear things like that, and learn things like that. It’s sad. But, oh well.”
However, the veteran performer went on to suggest that she hopes Grande will use this situation as a teachable moment.
“I think when you’re young and you’re in show business — well, if you last in show business for any amount of time and are still famous — you do learn a lot of lessons along the way, and you get a little more humble,” Peterson said. “So hopefully that will happen with her.”
