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No charges in Ariana Grande’s doughnut-licking incident

Posted at 7:28 AM, Jul 14, 2015
and last updated 2015-07-14 09:29:08-04

(CNN) — Ariana Grande won’t be in any legal trouble for her doughnut-licking controversy.

The owner of Wolfee Donuts, a shop in Los Angeles, will not press charges against Grande after a video surfaced in which she appears to lick several for-sale doughnuts and says she hates America.

The Lake Elsinore Police Department is currently working with the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health to determine whether the potentially contaminated doughnuts were subsequently sold to other customers, according to a statement released by authorities.

In a video posted Thursday, the “Problem” singer apologized for her behavior.

“Seeing a video of yourself behaving poorly, that you have no idea was taken, is such a rude awakening, that you don’t know what to do — I was so disgusted with myself,” she said.

“Not here to make any excuses or justify my behavior, because I can’t. … I’m just here to apologize.”

The doughnut video, originally released to TMZ, shows the 22-year-old celebrity appearing to stealthily touch the displayed doughnuts with her tongue before jumping up and down, laughing. Then, when an employee approaches with a tray full of doughnuts, the singer turns to a male companion and says loudly, “What the f*** is that? I hate Americans. I hate America.”

The singer tweeted an apology of sorts after the video went viral on social media.

“I am EXTREMELY proud to be an American,” she wrote. “What I said in a private moment … was taken out of context and I am sorry for not using more discretion with my choice of words.”

But instead of addressing the incident, Grande only added that she felt “very upset” about the food habits of Americans and was “frustrated” by child obesity rates.

On social media, #WeForgiveYouAriana has been trending as fans reach out.

But not everyone was buying it. Actor Rob Lowe tweeted that Grande’s excuse for licking and leaving the doughnuts was “#lame.”

Health officials also announced they would investigate the doughnut shop to see why the baked goods were left exposed to the public, a violation of local food safety codes.

CNN’s Lisa Respers France contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
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