Twelve months ago, Ariana Grande blessed the country with a truly ballsy act of young-adult rebellion: She walked into a California donut shop with a friend, licked a bunch of donuts when the workers’ backs were turned, and proclaimed, “I hate Americans, I hate America.†(Three cheers for the red, white, and blue, folks.) She issued a statement and apologized for her “taken-out-of-context†actions, and the aftershock of #Donutgate slowly waned as the summer passed on. However, thanks to the recent Democratic National Committee hack, #Donutgate and Grande are unexpectedly back in the spotlight for one, last, tongue-lickin’ hurrah.
As reported by Gawker, Grande was in the running to perform at an undisclosed White House gala for the president. A DNC staffer named Zachary Allen sent an email to a deputy compliance director to get the pop star vetted, and received an incredibly in-depth response. “Video caught her licking other peoples’ donuts while saying she hates America,†said an excerpt. “Republican congressman used this video and said it was a double standard that liberals were not upset with her like they are with Trump who criticized Mexicans; cursed out a person on Twitter after that person used an offensive word toward her brother.†Another White House employee, Bobby Schmuck, then proceeded to veto Grande’s gala request with two words: “Nope, sorry.†Maybe next time, Ari.