Ariana Grande's lesson in privacy in the social media era
鈥淚 hate Americans. I hate America.鈥�
That鈥檚 what pop icon Ariana Grande said in on Tuesday. The clip shows Ms. Grande in a donut shop with a friend, looking poised to buy some of the tasty treats. But the cashier at the shop 鈥渟he was really rude,鈥� and that she and the man with her licked several doughnuts, but didn鈥檛 buy any of them.
When a worker came out with a tray of doughnuts Grande shook her head, muttered an expletive and said she hated America.
The singer has since apologized for her comments in :
鈥淚 am EXTREMELY proud to be an American and I鈥檝e always made it clear that I love my country. What I said in a private moment with my friend, who was buying the doughnuts, was taken out of context and I am sorry for not using more discretion with my choice of words.鈥�
Grande that her moment of hatred stemmed from frustration with 鈥渉ow freely we as Americans eat and consume things without giving any thought to the consequences,鈥� and wasn鈥檛 intended to be hurtful.
The Internet and social media in particular blur the line between public and private life for many celebrities and everyday people. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram spread information at hair-raising speeds and once the damage is done, it鈥檚 irreversible.
In May 2014, an elevator surveillance camera filmed Solange Knowles angrily confronting her brother-in-law, rapper Jay Z, punching him, all while her sister singer Beyonce Knowles stood calmly by.
Solange, was immediately thrown into the public eye. Clips of the incident on the video-sharing website YouTube have been viewed over half a million times.
In June 2012, a fellow first-class airline passenger scolded Justin Bieber for his profane language on a flight to Australia. Several outlets picked up the story, with headlines about Bieber 鈥溾�� and the young singer's 鈥�.鈥�
Mr. Bieber has a hefty 32.6 million followers , making him one of the ten most followed people on the social media outlet along with Grande.
But incidents are not just limited to social media indiscretions. Maroon 5 lead singer and "The Voice" judge Adam Levine mumbled 鈥溾�� as his show moved on to commercial break.聽Many were outraged. Mr. Levine took to Twitter soon after the incident and tweeted definitions of 鈥渏oke,鈥� 鈥渉umorless,鈥� 鈥渓ighthearted,鈥� and 鈥渕isunderstand,鈥�
Celebrities like Grande are walking on eggshells. Cameras, microphones, and the rapid expansion of social media have changed expectations of privacy.
But this week's incident may have been a wake up call. that she鈥檚 watching her words:
鈥溾� should have known better in how I expressed myself; and with my new responsibility to others as a public figure I will strive to be better.鈥澛�
