The Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande rumour mill will not stop churning, but unlike everything else we've learned, this piece of drama did not occur in the past three months. Instead, fans are upset after the Mirror reported a joke allegedly made by Davidson in late 2017 that appeared to make light of the Manchester bombing. The Manchester attack occurred during Grande's Dangerous Woman tour five months earlier.
On 22nd May 2017, 22 people were killed and at least 59 injured after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive during the show at Manchester Arena in the UK.
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"My heart, prayers and deepest condolences are with the victims of the Manchester Attack and their loved ones," Grande said in a statement following the attack. "There is nothing I or anyone can do to take away the pain you are feeling or to make this better."
According to "sources" for The Mirror (so take this with a giant grain of salt), Davidson was performing a set at the Laugh Factory in LA in October of that year when he reportedly quipped that Grande should know how famous she is because "Britney Spears didn’t have a terrorist attack at her concert."
Neither Davidson nor the Laugh Factory has returned Refinery29's request for comment, but survivors have reacted with disgust.
"For anyone to joke about this situation is disgusting and I think he should publicly apologise for it," Charlotte Hodgson, mother of Olivia Campbell-Hardy who was just 15 years old when she was killed in the attack, told the outlet.
"I’m still suffering on a daily basis, I still have nightmares, and Ariana herself has suffered from PTSD," another mother told the outlet. "What the hell?"
Davidson has never shied away from controversial jokes, and has often used his comedy to talk about taboo topics like mental health. He has also opened up about losing his father in the 9/11 terrorist attack. However, in light of his recent but serious relationship with Grande, this alleged joke has come under fire.
We will update this post if Davidson has a response.