Man who grabbed Ariana Grande in Singapore 'Wicked' event charged
A Singapore court has charged the man who rushed at Ariana Grande at the Asian premiere of Wicked: For Good in Singapore on Nov. 13.
Grande and her Wicked costars were walking down the yellow carpet at Universal Studios Singapore when the man, Australian Johnson Wen, jumped a barricade, ran through security, and put his arm around Grande's shoulders as if to pose for a photo.
As her costars Cynthia Erivo and Michelle Yeoh circled Grande, security whisked Wen away.
According to a report by BBC, Wen, 26, was charged with being a public nuisance by a Singapore court the afternoon of Nov. 14. If found guilty, he faces a possible fine of S$2,000 (around P90,800). Local media reported that Wen represented himself and intends to plead guilty when he next appears in court on Monday, as court documents showed.
On Thursday night, Wen posted on Instagram that he was "free after being arrested."
This was not Wen's first unwelcome brush with celebrities.
On his Instagram page, where he describes himself as "Troll Most Hated" and calls himself Pyjama Man, Wen has a video of himself running up to Katy Perry, who was onstage for her Sydney concert in June, and putting his arm around her while jumping up and down. He did the same with The Weekend at the singer's August concert and at a Chainsmokers concert last December.
Late Thursday night, Wen also posted the video of him grabbing Grande, captioning it, "Dear Ariana Grande Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You."
In all instances, Wen is seen being dragged away by security.
Reactions to his antics condemn his behavior.
Actor-singer Darren Espanto commented on Wen's Grande video, "You’re the reason why we get less appearances in Asia."
Another Instagram user commented on the Perry video, "She didn’t LET you. Stop traumatising artists. You did this at [T]he [W]eeknd and other concerts too. Not ok. You’re not famous."
"I’m sorry… you thought it was a good idea to post this?" wrote another.
"Oh wow so you do this a lot...how aren't you in jail?" asked yet another social media user.
The Wicked: For Good cast is currently on a world tour to promote the highly anticipated sequel. They will be in New York City on Monday, days before the musical's release on Nov. 21.