Neilson Barnard/Getty ImagesAfter "Donutgate," Ariana Grande is singing a different tune.
The 22-year-old pop star made headlines and incurred the wrath of U.S. patriots after a leaked video, filmed over the Fourth of July weekend, showed her and her boyfriend, backup dancer Ricky Alvarez, licking doughnuts sitting on a tray on the counter. Grande then says, "I hate Americans. I hate America." An investigation has been launched.
Following the backlash, the singer later issued a statement, saying she is "EXTREMELY proud to be an American" and is "sorry for not using more discretion" with her "choice of words." On Thursday, she began the second U.S. leg of her 2015 Honeymoon tour, performing at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, following concerts in Europe.
"I'm so grateful to be here in Tampa! And I'm so, so grateful to be here performing in the USA, the greatest country in the world!" she told the crowd, as seen in a fan-made cellphone video.
Before the concert an "enthusiastic crowd of mostly teenage girls" were seen waiting outside the venue and one fan held a sign that stated "I can be your doughnut" with a drawing of a doughnut and sprinkles, The Tampa Tribune writer Courtney Hart wrote.
"By the time the pop star ended with the upbeat 'Break Free,' the arena was nonstop din from the ecstatic crowd who screamed her name until she came back to do 'Problem'' as an encore," she said. "By then there was no doubt that, for Tampa at least, she had licked her doughnut problem.
"Thank you, Tampa," Grande tweeted. "Absolutely overwhelmed with gratitude. I love love love you, babes. and appreciate you. more than you'll ever know."