In brief
Johnson Wen, a 26-year-old Australian man, has been sentenced to prison and banned from Singapore after jumping a barricade and grabbing Ariana Grande during the Asian premiere of 'Wicked: For Good.' Widely criticized for his actions, Wen's behavior at celebrity events raises concerns about safety in public spaces. Grande's co-star, Cynthia Erivo, intervened to protect the star, while Grande remains silent on the incident.
An Australian man who jumped over a barricade and grabbed Hollywood star Ariana Grande has been deported and banned from Singapore.
Johnson Wen, 26, was sentenced to nine days in prison for being a public nuisance and has now been 'barred from re-entering Singapore,' the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) told local media.
Wen pushed past photographers and charged at the actress and singer, who was attending the Asian premier for Wicked: For Good on 13 November. Co-star Cynthia Erivo had to wrestle him away from Grande.
Wen has a history of disrupting concerts and celebrity events, including jumping on stage at Katy Perry's Sydney concert in June this year.
The incident sparked outrage in Singapore, with many accusing him of re-traumatising Grande. The pop star turned actress has spoken of experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder after a suicide bomb attack at her May 2017 concert in Manchester killed 22 people and injured hundreds.
During Wen's trial, the court heard he had attempted to intrude on the film's premiere twice, according to Singaporean media. He then made a second attempt to jump the barricades. Security staff stopped him and this time pinned him down.
Wen later posted videos thanking Grande for letting him on the carpet and said he was 'free.'
Police arrested him the next day and charged him with public nuisance, to which Wen pleaded guilty.
The District Judge Christopher Goh was quoted by Channel News Asia as saying that Wen was 'attention seeking,' adding that he was wrong to think he would not suffer any consequences.
Grande has not commented on the case.
Erivo spoke about the incident to NBC, saying that she 'just wanted to make sure my friend was safe.' 'I'm sure he didn't mean us harm, but you never know with those things, and I wanted to make sure that she was OK. That was my first instinct,' she said.
