Again: Ariana Grande Avoids Apology for Licking Donuts While Plugging Perfume on TV

Ariana Grande appeared on Good Morning America Tuesday to hawk her new perfume, “Ari by Ariana Grande” – but before she should could get down to promoting the fragrance, the pop star was forced to address the now-infamous incident at a California doughnut shop in July that has ruined her reputation.

“First of all, my behavior was very offensive, and I apologized. There is no excuse, or there’s nothing to justify it,” Grande began, before attempting to do just that.

“I think as human beings, we all say and do things that we don’t mean at all sometimes, and we have to learn from it,” she continued. “I mean, that’s part of our process, we have to learn from our mistakes and that’s how we grow.”

Grande was caught on tape licking and spitting on several doughnuts at the Wolfee Donuts shop in Lake Elsinore, California on July 4. The pop star and her boyfriend were seen laughing before Grande saw a particular tray of doughnuts and commented, “I hate Americans. I hate America.”

Asked what specifically she had learned from the experience, Grande told GMA: “One of the biggest things I learned from that was what it feels like to disappoint so many people who love and believe in you, and that’s an excruciating feeling.”

“You have to remember that your words and actions have ramifications and you have to really think about what you’re about to say and do because it’s important, it’s important to so many people.”

Grande issued two separate apologies after video of the incident was released online, but neither of the apologies specifically addressed the doughnut-licking. Instead, Grande focused on what she thought was the most offensive aspect of the incident: her comments about America.

But celebrities regularly disparage and make uneducated comments about America; there isn’t enough time in a day to get angry at every one. What was particularly egregious about this incident was the fact that Grande could have alerted the store worker that she had spit on the doughnuts (which were confirmed to have been served to other customers later that day), or could have at least purchased them herself (she is, after all, worth an estimated $16 million).

This GMA appearance marks three straight “apologies” where Grande could have just put the incident fully to bed by acknowledging her diva-like behavior. Instead, she mumbled some stuff about learning from her mistakes and then it was on to the next order of business: selling some perfume.

“I’m fairly new to the fragrance industry, I guess, but it’s kind of like making a song,” Grande said of her new product. “You pick a bunch of different notes and they can either make like a really pretty chord or an ugly chord and it smells awful or it smells great.”

Watch a clip from Grande’s GMA appearance above.