Ariana Grande's fans defend the singer's donut shop outburst with pictures

Home Top

Pictured: Gunman Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, who killed four Marines and injured one cop after shooting up two Tennessee military centers with a 'high-powered rifle' - before being shot dead
GUILTY! James Holmes faces death penalty after he is found guilty of all 166 charges including first-degree murder in Colorado movie theater shooting
'I fought the trolls in the trenches': Former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao describes her plight in op-ed as she warns 'trolls are winning the battle for the internet'
EXCLUSIVE: More ammo for Trump: How housing an illegal immigrant for a night in the United States' biggest detention center costs more than a stay at the nearest four-star Hilton Hotel
REVEALED: How Tennessee 'lone wolf' terrorist posted cryptic blog on Islam in 2014 and his special policeman father was once investigated for terror links
'I used to like her, but I don't trust her': Hillary Clinton's standing plummets among Democrats and fewer than 2 in 5 Americans view her favorably
Hillary Clinton's 'cheapskate campaign' spent $18million and hired hundreds of employees in first three months of presidential race to outpace rivals
'There but for the grace of God': Obama visits federal prison in Oklahoma and says nonviolent drug criminals 'made mistakes that aren't that different from the mistakes I made'
Blame me for putting too many people in jail, says Bill Clinton
Hamptons plans of the rich and famous in chaos as Obama weekend visit to New York GROUNDS all private helicopter flights out of the city so he can see a Broadway show
Johnny Depp criticized for letting 16-year-old daughter pose seductively in 'baby doll' video for Chanel
Johnny Depp's wife Amber Heard could face ten years in prison as she is charged with illegally smuggling pet dogs Pistol and Boo into Australia on a private jet
Cut the crunches! Personal trainer insists doing sit-ups every day WON'T give you washboard abs - and can actually do more harm than good
Losing weight really IS impossible: The vast majority of people who pile on the pounds never lose them (at least not in the long run)
Grandpa's day out! Bill Clinton plays in the park with Chelsea's baby Charlotte (and a little help from the nanny)
Inside the mind of an ISIS suicide bomb plotter: Unrepentant mastermind whose explosives killed hundreds of innocent people insists 'I am no butcher... it was jihad'
Ohio man indicted for 'providing material support to Islamic State' after telling FBI informant 'he would behead his non-Muslim son to honor the terror group'
EXCLUSIVE: Family members gather and wipe tears from their eyes at Bobbi Kristina's hospice after police and a lawyer arrived on the scene and a hearse is spotted backing up to a mysterious tent erected outside
Bobby Brown and his wife Alicia Ethridge take inspiration from Buddhism as they 'name their newborn daughter Bodhi'
Mammals went through an 'explosion' of evolution while dinosaurs roamed the Earth
How did Sandra die in jail? Family and friends refuse to believe police story that Chicago civil rights activist killed herself after being arrested during traumatic traffic stop
TLC cancels 19 Kids and Counting in wake of Josh Duggar scandal but announces his sisters Jessa and Jill was be featured in commercial-free child molestation special
Caitlyn Jenner's ESPY Courage Award win is SLAMMED by victim in fatal car crash as she claims former Olympian ' still refuses to accept responsibility for taking a life'
Caitlyn Jenner pictured behind-the-scenes of the ESPYs with her glam squad in new Instagram snap...as social media is forced to censor hate-filled comments

Ariana, 22, nearly faced legal repercussions after surreptitiously licking donuts at a California bakery
The dessert-tonguing incident was caught on the store's cameras
After she was criticized and police launched an investigation, her fans began posting donut-licking selfies with the hashtag #lickdonutswithari

Published: 13:08 EST, 15 July 2015 | Updated: 15:56 EST, 15 July 2015

168

View
comments

Superfans of Ariana Grande have quickly forgiven her for contaminating donuts at a California bakery with her saliva, and are now rushing to the star's defense by licking their own donuts in solidarity.

Nicknamed 'Arianators', her fans have been posting selfies on Instagram in which their tongues touch donuts, both real and of the emoji variety.

Using the hashtag #lickdonutswithari, the group of youngsters, most of whom are in their teens, is throwing their support behind the 22-year-old singer, in spite of her possibly criminal activity, by defiantly following her lead.

Scroll down for video

Major fans: Some of Ariana Grande's fans are showing their support for the singer by posting selfies in which they are seen licking donuts

Social media savvy: Ariana's fans, who call themselves Arianators, are using the hashtag #lickdonutswithari

Takes courage? The account Lick Donuts With Ari posts photos of 'brave' girls who are sticking up for their favorite star

About a week ago, the Love Me Harder singer was caught on camera at Wolfee Donuts in Lake Elsinore, California, with her back-up dancer boyfriend, Ricky Alvarez. Ariana quickly licked two donuts on trays that had been set out on the counter, though she bought neither.

Afterward, Wolfee Donuts lost a letter grade during a surprise health inspection, and Ariana publicly apologized for the incident.

Ariana's fans, however, are not licking donuts that are still for sale at a bakery or restaurant. Their desserts are either those that they have bought, or enlarged versions of the donut emoji which have been edited to appear in front of their open mouths.

The Instagram account Lick Donuts With Ari, which created the hashtag, has also been aggregating and re-posting these selfies, telling followers: 'If she licks we ALL LICK with her.'

Ariana Grande licks donuts and declares she hates America

Acting out: The singer came under fire after licking donuts for sale at a California bakery

Sorry: She has since apologized for her behavior and told her fans that she wants to be a positive influence

Make a style bang like Ariana in her Versace dress

Versace Spring/Summer '14

Shop similar styles below

Buy now

Ariana Grande has certainly pulled out all the stops for the Grammys! Stunning statement dress? Check. Gorgeous arm candy? Her cute clutch and new boyfriend have definitely got that covered.

The singer paid homage to her Italian roots by opting for a dress from the Versace Spring/Summer '14 collection. The one-shouldered style looks amazing on her, but it's that quirky metallic detail that really makes it stand out from the crowd.

Versace are renowned for their designs that ooze sex appeal. So although the dress still looks wholly chic, the thigh-split and cut-out detail vamps up the design.

Plus, that metallic detail is sartorially striking against the white dress, which is definitely a look we want to get on board with! Luckily, the high-street has some great alternatives to do so...

* PRICES MAY NOT BE AS ADVERTISED

...NOW GET ONE LIKE IT

Support: Some of her fans, though, see no reason for her to apologize, and believe that she either did nothing wrong at all or made a harmless mistake

Teen behavior: While many say Ariana is just 'young' and her behavior was innocent, the singer is actually 22, and older than many of the fans who are supporting her with donut selfies

'Show those haters they CAN be stopped,' the account captioned one photo of a brown-haired girl with a donut emoji on her tongue, adding to another: '[This girl's] bravery to stop haters is much appreciated!'

The founder of the account, which has 3,495 followers, explained in one post that Ariana's fans 'don't care [that she] licked a donut'.

In a note to the former Sam & Cat star, written in case she stumbled upon the account, the person behind Lick Donuts With Ari wrote: 'To us it's not [a] big deal and you mean so much more than that... You have so many fans that adore you and they are all so cute, and what's even more is they are brave and they had the courage to stand up to the people that were against you and remain loyal.'

Setting an example: The founder of the account (not pictured) said that Ariana's fans think she is 'much more' than her donut-licking incident

Mob mentality: The founder (not pictured) also praised Ariana's fans for having the 'courage' to stand up to 'haters'

Playing with pictures: Not all of the posters are licking real donuts; some just edit pictures of the donut emoji over their tongues

Her fans are certainly enthusiastic in their support and quick to dismiss any criticism of their beloved singer. Many claim that Ariana is just 'young' and 'made a mistake', while others go so far as to say that there was nothing wrong with how she behaved.

'She made one little mistake now haters back off [because] we true ariananatiors forgive her [sic],' wrote one fan on the page.

Another said: 'I went to dunkin donuts & brought three donuts and licked one in front of the cashier in honor of Ari [sic].'

Haters gonna hate: Many of her fans accuse those who have criticized Ariana of being 'haters'

Boys love her, too: While most of the participants are girls, a few male fans have joined in the campaign

Following her lead: Ariana claims that she wants to be a 'positive influence', implying that she would never want to encourage others to lick donuts that don't belong to them

For her part, Ariana admits that what she did was inappropriate, and says she is embarrassed by her own behavior. She posted two videos to say she was sorry.

'I just wanted to... apologize again for the whole donut fiasco and craziness,' she said in a video that she uploaded to YouTube. 'Seeing a video of yourself behaving poorly - that you have no idea was taken - is such a rude awakening... I was so disgusted with myself.'

In fact, it seems that Ariana might not like that her fans have been copying her and making light of the situation, as she also said that she wouldn't want to encourage them to do anything that they shouldn't.

'I never want to be anything but a positive influence on my babes,' she said.

Ariana Grande apologies to fans for donut licking fiasco