Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson ice skate in NYC after she defends him over Manchester joke

Published: 23:44 BST, 6 July 2018 | Updated: 00:53 BST, 7 July 2018

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Ariana Grande and her fiance Pete Davidson were out ice skating in New York City Friday, after she came to his defense over an uncomfortable joke he made about the May 2017 terrorist attack at her concert in Manchester, England.

The pop superstar, 25, and Saturday Night Live star, 24, skated for about an hour; she reportedly cringed when her song No Tears Left to Cry was played, telling Pete she wanted to 'crawl into a hole.'

On the outing, Ariana wore a black sweatshirt with cat ears and jeans, while Davidson wore a zip-up black hooded sweatshirt with ash grey sweatpants and a white cap with a mask covering his face.

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Happy together: Ariana Grande, 25, and her fiance Pete Davidson, 24, were out ice skating in New York City Friday, after she came to his defense over an uncomfortable joke he made about the May 2017 terrorist attack at her concert in Manchester, England

Grande took to Instagram Stories, posting a series of clips in which she held hands with Pete. The Dangerous Woman artist wrote: 'dis always makes me feel' alongside an emoji of praying hands and a cloud.

She subsequently shared a shot looking upwards at the city landscape, writing a series of inspirational messages to her 122 million followers: 'Stay present ... be kind ... be grateful ... be well.'

On Thursday, Ariana defended her beau after he landed in hot water over a wisecrack about the suicide bomber attack at her concert in May of 2017 that left 22 people dead and more than 800 injured.

The initial remark Davidson made last autumn while at a benefit show - commenting on Grande's rising star - was that 'Britney Spears didn't have a terrorist attack at her concert,' according to The Mirror. On Wednesday, she responded to a Twitter user who questioned why she stays with the comedian.

Out and about: The celebrity couple matched in black sweatshirts

LOLs: Grande she reportedly cringed when her song No Tears Left to Cry was played, telling Pete she wanted to 'crawl into a hole'

Chatty: The two were inseparable as they skated in the Big Apple

Loyal: Amid the controversy over his joke, Grande said that Davidson 'uses comedy to help [people] feel better [about] how [f****d] up things in this world are'

'I respect Ariana and I want her to be happy and everything, but she was just broken after the Manchester bombing, so I don’t know why she is still with Pete, like yeah he made that joke a while ago, but like it’s not funny, it’s just rude,' the Twitter user wrote. Grande responded Thursday, saying the ordeal has been very tough and 'conflicting on [her] heart.'

Davidson, she said, 'uses comedy to help [people] feel better [about] how [f****d] up things in this world are,' adding that 'we all deal [with] trauma differently.

'I of course didn’t find it funny,' she wrote. 'It was months ago & his intention wasn’t/ is never malicious but it was unfortunate.'

New love: The Dangerous Woman artist was previously in an almost-two-year relationship with rap artist Mac Miller

Risk-taker: Pete has shown no hesitance to dabble with gallows humor

Gorgeous: Grande flashed her stunning smile as she held hands skating with Pete

Davidson has a direct link to tragedy in his personal life, as he was only seven-years-old when he lost his firefighter father Scott Davidson in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

He hasn't shied away from drawing upon the personal tragedy for material, such as a line he delivered while roasting Justin Bieber on Comedy Central in 2015.

'I lost my dad on 9/11, and I always regretted growing up without a dad until I met your dad, Justin - now I’m glad mine’s dead.'

Muscle: The celebrities were flanked by burly bodyguards on the day out

Sharing: Grande took to Instagram Stories, posting a series of clips in which she held hands with Pete

Speaking with the New York Times in 2015, the funnyman explained his penchant for gallows humor.

'I’m like, "Hey, I just want to talk about this that everybody’s uncomfortable about,"' he said. 'I like doing that. I like making things that are dark, awkward, weird things that you don’t really find funny funny.

'There’s nothing I won’t joke about, and I think it’s because of what happened to me. That’s the worst thing that could ever happen to somebody. Now it’s just like, "Who cares, man?"'