A man who jumped over a barricade and grabbed actress Ariana Grande at a Wicked: For Good premiere in Singapore has been charged with being a public nuisance.
A now viral video shows the Australian man, Johnson Wen, pushing past photographers and charging at Grande while the cast made its way down a yellow carpet surrounded by fans. Co-star Cynthia Erivo could be seen wrestling the stunned actress away from Mr Wen.
The 26-year-old had posted on Instagram late on Thursday that he was “free after being arrested”.
However, on Friday afternoon, he was charged with being a public nuisance by a Singapore court. The incident caused massive outrage in the city state.
Local media reports say Mr Wen, who was unrepresented, intends to plead guilty.
This is not the first time Mr Wen, who describes himself as a “Troll Most Hated”, has invaded a concert or event.
His Instagram feed includes clips of him disrupting other celebrity events, including jumping on stage at Katy Perry’s Sydney concert in June this year. He did the same at a concert by The Chainsmokers last December.
If found guilty, he may be fined up to S$2000 ($1540; £1170).
Fans had earlier called for him to be arrested and deported.
“There needs to be action [taken] against him as this is clearly a criminal offence,” wrote an Instagram user, in a comment a video Mr Wen posted of his act.
“Oh wow so you do this a lot… how aren’t you in jail?” one Instagram user wrote.
Several accused Mr Wen of “re-traumatising” Grande, who has spoken of experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder after a suicide bomb attack at the end of her May 2017 concert in Manchester, killing 22 people and injuring hundreds.
“Ariana has been through so many scary things… and at her Manchester concert and you thought it would be fun to jump the barricade?” said another comment on Instagram.
Some fans also criticised security officers at the Thursday event for not being vigilant enough; while others called for social media platforms to ban Mr Wen’s videos.
In clips circulating online, Grande appeared shocked when she was grabbed by the intruder. Her co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Erivo can be seen comforting her while Mr Wen was escorted away by security.
Grande has not commented on the incident, and the rest of the event proceeded as planned.
The BBC has reached out to Singapore’s police and immigration authority for comment.
Hundreds of fans had gathered in a sea of green and pink at the Wicked: For Good Asia-Pacific premiere in a Singapore mall, including some who had stood in line for as long as eight hours before it began.
The movie, to be released on 21 November, is the second of a two-part adaptation of the popular Broadway and West End musical Wicked, which centres on the unlikely friendship between two very different witches.
The musical itself is a spin-off of the 1900 children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Grande, who plays the good witch Glinda, was decked out in a champagne pink sequin dress at the premiere while Erivo, who plays the wicked witch, wore a black tube grown embroidered with roses.
They were joined by co-star Jeff Goldblum who plays the wizard.
The first movie, Wicked, was the highest-grossing movie of 2024 in the UK, and scored 10 Oscar nominations, winning two for best costume and production design.
BBC
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