Bishop Charles H Ellis III, the officiating pastor at the funeral of Aretha Franklin, has apologised to singer Ariana Grande for how he held her onstage and making a joke about her name.
After Grande's performance of Franklin's hit (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman during the service at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, Bishop Ellis greeted Grande, holding her well above the waist with his fingers on one side of her chest - prompting anger online.
Speaking to the Associated Press after the funeral, Bishop Ellis said: "It would never be my intention to touch any woman's breast. ... I don't know, I guess I put my arm around her.
"Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologise."
The bishop said he had hugged all the performers during the eight-hour service.
"I hug all the female artists and the male artists," he said. "Everybody that was up, I shook their hands and hugged them. That's what we are all about in the church. We are all about love.
"The last thing I want to do is to be a distraction to this day. This is all about Aretha Franklin."
He also apologised to Grande for making a joke about seeing her name on the funeral programme and thinking it was a new addition to the Taco Bell menu.
"I personally and sincerely apologise to Ariana and to her fans and to the whole Hispanic community," Bishop Ellis said.
"When you're doing a programme for nine hours you try to keep it lively, you try to insert some jokes here and there."
Grande has made no comment about the Bishop Ellis incident, or online criticism that her dress was too short for a funeral service.
