Business is booming at Wolfee Donuts after pop star Ariana Grande’s now-infamous doughnut-licking, “I hate America” incident went viral this week.
Shop owner Joe Marin told the Wrap that business has “tripled” ever since video of the July 4 incident–in which Grande and a male companion can be seen licking doughnuts left on a countertop inside the store – first hit the Internet on July 7.
“She forgot that America buys your tickets, that’s why you’re famous,” he said.
Wolfee Donuts’ health rating was knocked down a letter grade on Thursday after Riverside County health inspectors docked points from the shop for leaving trays of doughnuts on the countertop, among other more minor violations. The shop has one week to get its rating back up, and Marin told the Wrap that he is confident he can make the corrections.
But Marin also said he was concerned about the disease risks of Grande’s “licked” donuts.
“She licked the [doughnuts] with the frosting; she was spitting on the white powder [ones],” Marin said. “A customer out there could have got sick.”
Marin added that Grande’s first apology statement seemed phony: “She’s saying the statement because she basically got caught.”
The pop star has since issued a second apology for the incident. In a video posted to YouTube Thursday, Grande said she was “too busy preaching” about the importance of healthy eating in her first written statement. However, like her first apology, Grande’s video statement did not specifically address the doughnut-licking.