Luge Cage actor Mike Colter has apologised for a tweet he made after the bishop at Aretha Franklin‘s funeral appeared to grope Ariana Grande.
Bishop Charles H. Ellis III was heavily criticised for how he hugged Grande.
#RespectAriana is tending worldwide right now because Bishop Charles H. Ellis III was seen inappropriately groping Ariana Grande on live tv during Aretha Franklins funeral.
Men really need to get their sh*t together pic.twitter.com/AEqr7aAi1m
— saige😮💨 (@seasonedwsaige) September 1, 2018
In response to a video of the incident, Colter wrote: ‘Now THIS is how you shoot your shot! Zero FCKS!!’ along with several crying emojis.
The tweet has since been deleted.
https://twitter.com/yungoceania/status/1036293711427260416
After some hours Colter apologised for the tweet, explaining it had been “complete and biting sarcasm”. The apology tweet was also deleted.
Per Deadline, the actor wrote: “I apologise about my tweet earlier. In no way do I condone any such behaviour. It was intended to point out the absurdity of the act itself. Complete and biting sarcasm. I realised quickly that it was not taken as such.” Colter then explained he had been “at an event all day” in response to those criticising the time it took him to apologise.
Bishop Charles later apologised in a statement to The Associated Press: “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 apologise.”
The bishop also apologised for a joke he made in which he said seeing Grande’s name on the program made him think of an item on a Taco Bell menu.
“I personally and sincerely apologise 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.”
In response, thousands took to Twitter to denounce the bishop’s actions – many using the hashtag #RespectAriana.
Grande has posted to her social media accounts since the incident but has not publicly commented on it.
The artist joined several other musicians who performed at Franklin’s service including Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder, and Faith Hill.
