No Charges for Doughnut-Licking Ariana Grande

Pop star Ariana Grande will not face criminal charges for licking doughnuts she had not purchased at a California doughnut shop on July 4.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Monday that the owner of Wolfee Donuts has declined to press charges against Grande, who was caught on tape licking several doughnuts on a countertop inside the shop before remarking, “I hate Americans. I hate America.”

The department directed all further requests about the incident to the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health.

Wolfee Donuts was penalized by the Health Department after the video was made public, receiving a downgraded “B” health rating after getting an “A” at its previous inspection. A health inspector had concluded that the doughnut shop was at fault for leaving trays of doughnuts unattended on a countertop, and for having a dishwasher that did not adequately sanitize store utensils.

Wolfee Donuts remains open while owner Joe Marin told a local newspaper he is confident he correct the violations within the week.

Marin also said that doughnut purchases at his shop have skyrocketed since the incident, with business tripling in the last week. Local minor league baseball team the Lake Elsinore Storm will hold an event this week to support the doughnut shop during its game on July 15.

At least one fan of the doughnut shop was not pleased with Marin’s decision not to press charges against Grande.

“You know what is even more disgusting,” wrote Facebook user Britta Franks on the company’s page. “A business owner who doesn’t press charges. Saying it is OK to lick our donuts. Our customers don’t matter.”

Grande was scheduled to perform at the MLB All-Star Game concert in Cincinnati last weekend, but was replaced by singer Demi Lovato after the incident. Grande said “emergency oral surgery” was to blame for her bowing out of the performance.

Grande issued two apologies for the incident. In the first, the pop star said she is “EXTREMELY proud to be an American and I’ve always made it clear that I love my country.”

“As an advocate for healthy eating, food is very important to me and I sometimes get upset by how freely we as Americans eat and consume things without giving a thought to the consequences that it has on our health and society as a whole,” she said in a statement.

Grande issued a second apology last week, uploading a video to YouTube in which she apologized for “preaching” about her issues with the food industry.

Neither apology specifically addressed the doughnut-licking.