Kristina
Pop star Ariana Grande has become embroiled in a controversy involving Cassandra Peterson, more popularly known as Elvira, the Mistress of the Dark. The undisputed “Queen of Halloween” recently shared her quite uncomfortable encounter with Grande at an event at Knott’s Scary Farm, giving rise to accusations that the pop star snubbed her.
During a Q&A session, 73-year-old Peterson was asked to remember some of the worst celebrity encounters. Refusing to name the person, she hinted at it by saying it rhymed with “Pariana Mande.” From there, she went on to detail the event, which revolved around a request made by Grande, 31, for 20 tickets to attend Peterson’s show.
Peterson explains what happened. She described that Grande had entered the venue with an entire entourage of friends and relatives. “She wanted 20 or 21 tickets, and we’re like, ‘Okay!’ So we gave her the tickets,” Peterson said. Before heading out of the venue after the performance, as a gesture of good will, Peterson invited Grande and her entourage backstage. According to Peterson, Grande asked her to take pictures with all her friends and family.
“I took a picture with every single one of them,” Peterson said. “I signed autographs for all of them.” But when Peterson approached Grande for a photo together, she allegedly said no. “I asked her, ‘Could we take a photo together?’ and she goes, ‘No, I don’t really do that,'” Peterson recalled. Grande allegedly bailed before the show even started, but her friends and family remained behind.
Not to be left behind, Tom Vanucci, former director of the Elvira show, corroborated Peterson’s testimony, declaring, “It’s all true!”
Perhaps as the controversy was surfacing online, Ariana Grande herself felt it best to respond to such claims on social media. Below an image promoting an interview with her and Peterson, Grande stated that she had actually experienced an anxiety attack during the event and thus didn’t actually remember meeting Peterson. Responding to the incident, Grande remarked, “I’m so disheartened to see this,”.
Grande elaborated on that period, saying it was a number of years past. “I don’t even remember getting the chance to meet you because I had an anxiety attack and, to my memory, left before the rest of my family,” she explained. That was about seven years ago, and at the time, I was really not good with being in public crowds or loud places, Grande admitted remorsefully. “But if I’m misremembering this moment, I sincerely apologize for offending you,” she ended.
A sweet touch was when Grande thanked Peterson for being “so nice to my mom,” whom she accidentally mixed up. “Thanks for being so nice to my mom,” she typed, citing that after the night, “my mom said some really nice things about you.” Grande ended the note with an olive branch, saying “love always” and stating that Peterson will forever be their “queens of Halloween.”
However, Peterson himself has made no public response on the matter of Grande’s version of the story. While the tale was much-needed fodder for discussion among fans who could sympathize with anxiety-plagued Grande and others lining up to support the way Peterson related the experience, pressures experienced by celebrities on both fronts have been brought to light.
This is hardly the first time Peterson’s stories about his experiences with Hollywood’s crème de la crème found themselves caught up in interesting stories. Last year, she shared a touching story about her former neighbour, Brad Pitt, who helped an elderly man by letting him live rent-free on his property after the wife of the man died. According to Peterson, Pitt offered his $39 million Los Feliz estate as a residence for his 105-year-old neighbour. Pitt, a philanthropist, had bought several plots of land in the area; one of them belonged to this old man who goes by the name John.
Peterson recalls that Pitt had made sure John spend the rest of his life on the estate. It was under the assurance that he would not pay any penny for rent. “Brad was very, very kind to him,” she said. “His wife had died, and Brad let him stay there for free until he died.” She said the deal had been around for decades, and half-jokingly theorized that Pitt must have figured it was a situation only temporary. “It was kind of funny because John lived to be 105,” she said with a chuckle.
True, there is the new drama with Grande, but more often than not, Peterson’s tales of Hollywood reveal the more human sides of celebrities-courteous, flawed, and particularly the odd awkward moment or two. Whether the fracas between Elvira and Grande continues on shall be seen and everyone will be holding their collective breath to see whether the Queen of Halloween accepts the apology from the pop star.
As of now, representatives for both parties have not provided any further comments.
