A man who rushed towards Ariana Grande during the Asia-Pacific premiere of Wicked: For Good has been charged in Singapore.
On Thursday, 13th November, Grande was walking down the red carpet with her Wicked co-stars at the Universal Studios venue in Singapore when an individual jumped over the barricade and sprinted towards her. The man, later identified as Australian social media prankster Johnson Wen, grabbed Grande, jumping up and down with his arms around her.
The star froze in shock, while fellow cast member Cynthia Erivo immediately stepped in, pushing the man away and helping security remove him from the red carpet.
Wen, 26, who posts on social media under the name pyjamamann, has been charged in a Singaporean court with being a public nuisance. Local reports state that Wen intends to plead guilty to the charge and faces a fine of up to S$2,000 (£1,168).
Following the incident, Wen confirmed his actions by posting a video on Instagram, thanking Grande for allowing him to “jump on the Yellow Carpet with you.” He also shared footage from a different angle showing himself being escorted from the venue by security. In another video, he claimed he was “free” after being arrested.
This is not the first time Wen has disrupted public events. He has previously posted videos of himself running onstage at concerts by artists such as The Chainsmokers, Katy Perry, and The Weeknd, as well as invading the 100m finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2023 Cricket World Cup finals.
Wicked: For Good is set to be released in cinemas worldwide on 21st November. The first film in the Wicked franchise received a four-star review from NME, with Nick Levine praising it as “funny, colourful and full of empathy for outsiders.”