Elvira slams Ariana Grande for ‘very offensive’ encounter, reacts to apology

Elvira is standing by her criticism of Ariana Grande almost a year after calling out the “Wicked” star for her allegedly rude behavior during a past encounter. 

The 74-year-old horror icon, whose real name is Cassandra Peterson, previously accused Grande, 32, of snubbing her during one of her “Mistress of the Dark” shows. 

Grande later apologized, saying she didn’t recall the encounter and attributed it to an anxiety attack she was experiencing at the time.

During a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Peterson doubled down on her version of events and shared her reaction to Grande’s apology. 

ELVIRA CRITICIZES ARIANA GRANDE FOR DIVA BEHAVIOR AT ONE OF HER SHOWS

“I told a story that really happened. She did it. I wasn’t making it up. It was very offensive,” Peterson said.

She continued, “I had all the celebrities who I had ever come to my show — and there was a ton — were always gracious and kind, and, um, she was not. I’m sorry to say that.” 

“It’s disappointing when you hear things like that, and learn things like that,” Elvira added. “It’s sad. But, oh well.”

In October 2024, Peterson first spoke publicly about her encounter with Grande, adding fuel to long-running “diva” rumors surrounding the singer.

During an appearance at Knott’s Scary Farm, Elvira participated in a Q & A session where she asked about her worst celebrity interaction. 

In a fan-recorded video, Peterson, who made her character “Elvira” famous beginning in the early ’80s, recalled meeting Grande but didn’t disclose when the interaction occurred.

Peterson said Grande “came [to my show] and she brought 20 guests. So she wanted 21 tickets. We’re like, ‘OK,’” Peterson started. “She gets backstage, and she asks if I could take pictures with all of her friends and relatives she brought.”

“I take a picture with every single one of them. I sign autographs for every single one of them,” Peterson explained. “Then I say to her, ‘Could we take a photo together,’ and she goes, ‘No, I don’t really do that.'”

“And then she left before my show started. All her relatives stayed,” she remembered.

Peterson later posted a screenshot to Instagram featuring an article written about the conflict. A day later, Grande left a comment on the post in which she expressed her remorse for the interaction. 

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“I’m so disheartened to see this. i actually don’t even remember getting the chance to meet you because i had an anxiety attack and to my memory, left before the rest of my family (this was around 7 years ago and at the time i was really not great with being in public crowds or loud places)… but if i’m misremembering this moment, i sincerely apologize for offending you so,” Grande wrote at the time. 

She continued, “Thank you for being so nice to my mom, she told me how lovely you were (she might have different feelings about that now but i’ll talk to her… clearly, we all have our days!) sending love always. you’ll always be our queen of halloween!”

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Peterson shared that she wasn’t impressed with the “We Can’t Be Friends” singer’s apology, pointing to the line about how “her mom used to really like me, but maybe not now.”  

“What’s the word? You know, where you do something, but you really have other thoughts in mind? Like, ‘Thank you, not really, thank you,'” Peterson said. 

The “Yours Cruelly, Elvira” told Entertainment Weekly that she and Grande haven’t spoken since the Grammy Award winner’s apology. 

“After that response from her, no, I just let the whole thing drop,” Peterson said. 

Peterson expressed her hope that Grande might learn humility from the experience. 

“I think when you’re young and you’re in show business — well, if you last in show business for any amount of time and are still famous — you do learn a lot of lessons along the way, and you get a little more humble,” she muses. “So hopefully that will happen with her.”

ARIANA GRANDE DEFENDS HERSELF AGAINST ‘DIVA’ ACCUSATIONS

Fox News Digital has reached out to representatives for Grande and Peterson for comment. 

Grande has previously spoken out about being accused of diva behavior. 

In May 2020, Grande appeared on Apple Music’s “Zane Lowe Show,” and spoke about how she was impacted by the media’s narrative of her.

“I stopped doing interviews for a really long time because I felt like whenever I would get into a position where somebody would try to say something for clickbait or twist my words or blah-blah-blah. I would defend myself and then people would be like, ‘Oh, she’s a diva.’ And I was like, ‘This doesn’t make any sense.'”

Grande pointed out that women in her position are often spoken about differently than men. “It makes you want to quiet down a little bit. But I’m trying to also say, ‘F— that.’”

“I’m tired of seeing women silenced by it. I think there’s this thing where, like, we’ll hear something or [someone will be] like, ‘Oh she said this.’ … It really sits with you. And you feel like, ‘Oh wow, should I not express myself anymore or should I not have this fight that I want to have anymore? … Should I just say, ‘OK’ and let it be? It kind of f—s you up a little bit.”