Pop singer Ariana Grande became involved in a verbal duel with British journalist Piers Morgan, which apparently ended up boosting the popularity of the latter.
According to BBC, Morgan earned Grande’s ire during a debate on ITV's show Good Morning Britain when he criticized members of girl band Little Mix for posing naked for a photo promoting their latest song and, according to Morgan, "using sex to sell records" and even stealing the idea for the photo from Dixie Chicks.
"Here's a great idea, girls — if you want to really empower yourselves, get naked and put the word slut all over your body," Morgan said. "Why don't we stop pretending that getting your kit off is feminist empowerment?"
And after Ariana’s mother slammed Morgan for his subsequent jab against TV show host Ellen DeGeneres, the singer finally joined the fray.
“I use my talent AND my sexuality all the time because I choose to,” Grande retorted on Twitter. “Women can be sexual AND talented. Naked and dignified. It's OUR choice."
She went on to express hope that one day, he would “realize there are other ways to go about making yourself relevant than to criticize young, beautiful, successful women for everything they do”, with Morgan being quick to parry her verbal jabs.
The ensuing spat apparently resulted in Morgan’s name being catapulted to the top of Twitter’s worldwide trends, prompting the journalist to thank Grande for her contribution.