Ariana Grande is facing criticism for discussing her “infatuation” with serial killers and expressing that her dream dinner guest would be Jeffrey Dahmer. She made these comments on the Podcrushed podcast with hosts Penn Badgley, Sophie Ansari, and Nava Kavelin.
“I was infatuated with serial killers when I was younger,” Grande said. “It was between my time on [Sam & Cat] and my pop career. I was with a younger group and their parents, and someone asked, ‘If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be?’”
Grande recounted her response: “‘Oh, you’re so cute,’ I said, then asked the parents if I could give an honest answer. They said, ‘Sure, what’s the answer?’ and I replied, ‘I mean, Jeffrey Dahmer is pretty fascinating.’”
She even mentioned that she would still like to meet Dahmer, who was killed in prison in 1994 after being convicted of murdering 17 boys and men from 1978 to 1991, involving necrophilia and cannibalism.
“I think I would have loved to have met him,” Grande said. “Maybe with a third party present. But I have questions.”
Many are outraged by her comments. On social media, one user commented, “I don’t think she knows what she’s doing.” Another noted, “This is a surprisingly common stance. All these guys were getting fanmail in prison.” Others criticized her, saying, “I swear they want to get kidnapped…” and “She sounds like most other people who are serial killer obsessed,” while another added, “I don’t think she wants to be famous anymore.”
On Reddit, users also condemned Grande’s remarks. One user wrote, “This is so vile… I have a great interest in crime cases, but the LAST thing I’d want to do is have dinner with a serial killer. Jeffrey Dahmer was a pedophile who murdered innocent people, mainly people of color because he knew police wouldn’t take their disappearances seriously. Joking about wanting to have dinner with him is sick and horribly offensive to the victims’ families, who are still alive and affected by the tragedy. Let’s stop glorifying these psychos and pretending they are fascinating people – they’re not, and if you met them in real life, you would quickly realize why.” Another user commented, “That’s such a disgusting thing to say,” while another added, “Not the funny/cute/edgy anecdote you think it is, Ariana.”
