Luke Cage star Mike Colter apologises for crass Ariana Grande joke over Bishop incident at Aretha Franklin's funeral

Bishop who led Aretha Franklin's funeral was criticised for touching singer in a seemingly inappropriate way

Luke Cage star Mike Colter has issued an apology for a tweet he posted about Ariana Grande getting seemingly groped at Aretha Franklin's funeral.

Grande performed a touching rendition of “(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman” following which Bishop Charles H Ellis III put his arm around her, resting his hand against the right side of her chest.

“Now THIS is how you shoot your shot! Zero F***!” Colter wrote in a tweet that has since been deleted. He was responding to a message originally posted by comedian Trevor Noah that had drawn attention to the placement of Ellis' hand.

Colter has since released a statement in apology. It reads: “Hello all. I apologise about my tweet earlier. In no way do I condone any such behaviour. It was intended to point out the absurdity of the act itself. Complete and biting sarcasm. I realised quickly that it was not taken as such."

Grande is yet to comment on the situation. Ellis issued his own apology, stating: “Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologise.”

He continued: "I hug all the female artists and the male artists. 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.”

Grande was one of several performers to sing at the event. Others included Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill and Chaka Khan.

Franklin died earlier this month at the age of 76, from pancreatic cancer.