Doughnut Store Owner Declines to Press Charges Against Singer Ariana Grande

Photo courtesy of TMZ.com

By City News Service

The owner of a Lake Elsinore doughnut shop declined to press charges against pop star Ariana Grande for licking merchandise on a tray left on top of a display case, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department announced Monday.

Security video footage showed the 22-year-old singer and a man licking doughnuts at Wolfee Donuts about 11:30 p.m. on the 4th of July. The shop owner took the video to detectives on July 7 and filed a report, saying the doughnuts were tampered with deliberately.

California health laws require restaurants to protect all food from contact with the public. The shop manager previously said he sold out of doughnuts that night, so it’s possible someone ate those licked by Grande and her companion.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Ariana Grande Investigated for Alleged Doughnut-Licking Incident
• Update: Donut-Licking Incident Leads to Downgrade of Elsinore Shop
• Ariana Grande Apologizes Again For Doughnut-Licking Incident

According to Department of Environmental Health spokesman Keith Jones, the incident triggered a July 8 inspection that turned up several violations that resulted in the facility receiving a score of 86, which dropped Wolfee’s letter grade from “A” to “B.”

The store owner was given a week to make corrections, including repairing a broken floor and door. Another inspection is scheduled for Wednesday, Jones said.

“Hopefully their violations will be corrected,” he said. “I guess the sheriff’s department has closed their investigation. We’re strictly dealing with the operator.”

Grande asked the employee to retrieve fresher doughnuts from the back of the bakery, so the employee left the tray of powdered doughnuts atop the display case unattended. It was then that Grande and her friend licked the tray during a game of “Truth or Dare,” store owner Joe Marin previously said.

On the video of the doughnut-licking, Grande was also heard saying she hates America and Americans. She later publicly apologized for what she called the “doughnut fiasco and craziness.”

Grande, in a four-minute video posted on YouTube, said she’s “never been prouder to be an American” and said “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,” Grande said. “I wanted to shove my face in a pillow and wanted to disappear. But instead of that, I’m going to come forward and own up to what I did and take responsibility and say I’m sorry.”

Grande initially took to Twitter to issue an initial apology, insisting her comments were said “in a private moment” and “taken out of context.”