Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson have come under fire from a few fans who believe that their whirlwind romance and subsequent engagement came so quickly. However, now Pete Davidson is coming under fire, again, for another, less complimentary, reason.
According to the Daily Mail , back in 2017, Pete Davidson — who, at the time, was not engaged to be married to Ariana Grande — was performing a stand-up routine, when he joked about the Manchester bombing incident.
The routine was performed at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, CA, five months after the bombing incident and a full year before Davidson and Grande first began dating.
In the joke, Davidson said that Grande must have realized how famous she’d become, because “Britney Spears didn’t have a terrorist attack at her concert.”
It’s unclear why this stand-up routine has suddenly resurfaced after all this time, but what is clear is that many parents who lost their children as a result of the Manchester bombing are speaking out against the stand-up comedian, who is known for his crude gags.
“The families will find it equally as disgusting. We don’t need jokes about it, there have been plenty around, and it’s heartbreaking to hear every day,” said one mother, whose 15-year-old daughter was one of the 22 lost as a result of a homemade bomb going off during Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman” tour.
For her part, Ariana Grande said that she, too, was deeply affected by the bombing — shortly after the attack, she began experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. After she received extensive therapy, she got Manchester’s “worker bee” symbol tattooed behind her ear, and she was made an honorary citizen of the working-class British town.
“You don’t joke about things like that in a stand-up comedy show. I’m still suffering on a daily basis, I still have nightmares, and Ariana herself has suffered from PTSD. What the hell?” said another woman who survived the attack.
Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson first met when Ariana was hosting Saturday Night Live , on which Pete is a regular guest comedian. At the time they met, both were in other relationships — Ariana was dating rapper Mac Miller, while Pete was dating Cazzie David.
Then, Ariana broke up with Mac Miller on May 10 after two years together. Pete broke up with Cazzie on May 16. Almost immediately thereafter, Ariana and Pete began dating and, subsequently, got engaged.
Neither Ariana Grande nor Pete Davidson has commented about the insensitive joke.
