Elvira Says Ariana Grande Once Slighted Her

“Halloween Queen” Elvira called out pop star Ariana Grande in a Q&A event with fans on Friday. The “Mistress of Darkness” spoke with a crowd at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, where she was asked about her experiences meeting various celebrities. When someone called out the name “Ariana Grande,” Elvira (real name Cassandra Peterson) laughed and launched into a story.

Elvira said that Grande came to one of her events years ago, “and she brought 20 guests. So she wanted 20 tickets… and we gave her the tickets. She comes backstage and she asked if I could take pictures with all of her friends and relatives she brought.” Elvira said she took “a picture with every single one of them. I sign autographs for every single one of them. Then I say to her, ‘Can we take a photo together?’ And she goes, ‘No, I don’t really do that.’”

The crowd booed at this revelation, but Elvira wasn’t finished. She said that Grande “left before my show started and all of the relatives stayed.” The other panelists at the event cracked jokes about Grande, with one saying she “is playing the wrong witch” in the upcoming film adaptation of Wicked. (Grande plays Galinda, the Good Witch, in Wicked opposite of Cynthia Erivo’s Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba.)

The story made headlines after the event, and Elvira posted screenshots of an article by Parade on her Instagram account. Commenters also came down hard on the pop star, saying she was “disrespectful” and marveling at her “audacity.”

Some fans defended Grande and even questioned Elvira’s story in the comments, remarking that Grande was known for her patience and generosity when it comes to photo ops. Eventually, Grande herself responded in a comment on Elvira’s post.

“I’m so disheartened to see this,” the singer wrote. “I actually 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 (this was around 7 years ago and at the time I was really not great with being in public crowds or loud places)… but if I’m misremembering this moment, I sincerely apologize for offending you so. Thank you for being so nice to my mom, she told me how lovely you were (she might have different feelings about that now but I’ll talk to her… Clearly, we all have our days!)”

“Sending love always,” Grande concluded with a heart emoticon. “You’ll always be our queen of Halloween!” Elvira “liked” Grande’s comment, but at the time of this writing, she does not appear to have responded directly.

The comment has over 1,200 replies, with fans debating who was in the wrong or how this misunderstanding may have taken place. Many pointed out that if Grande was correct about this taking place “7 years ago,” it would have been in 2017 – just months after the 2017 Manchester bombing at one of Grande’s concerts. Grande has said before that she had severe anxiety attacks after that traumatic event. Many are hoping that these two icons get a chance to mend fences.