Dave MeyersIn the U.K., the female equivalent of a knighthood is a damehood — Dame Helen Mirren and Dame Judi Dench are two celebrities who have that title. But whatever you call it, Ariana Grande doesn’t want one.
The British tabloid The Sun claims that Ariana was offered the honorary title out of appreciation for her One Love Manchester concert, which she organized to raise money for the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. However, she reportedly turned down the offer, because she felt it might be insensitive to the families of the victims.
A source tells the paper, “Ariana was flattered but said it was too soon. She explained she was still grieving. So were scores of families. She feared some affected might see it as insensitive. The committee wrote to her but she politely said no.”
Another source added, “She was deeply moved and honored. She didn’t decline it as such but explained it was not the right time to accept.”
The mother of one of the victims tells The Sun, “It’s a lovely gesture. She’s right — maybe it is a bit too soon. She’s lovely and would never do anything to hurt any of us.”
Ariana did, however, accept honorary citizenship to the city of Manchester.
A number of songs on Ariana’s album Sweetener deal with her emotions following the attack. For example, the track “Get Well Soon” has 40 seconds of silence tacked on to the ending, making its total run time 5:22 — a reference to the fact that the bombing took place on May 22, 2017.
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
