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 Wen.
The 26-year-old 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 Wen, who was unrepresented, intends to plead guilty. This is not the first time he 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 and 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 offense, wrote one Instagram user.
Several accused Wen of re-traumatizing Grande, who has been open about her struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder after a suicide bomb attack at her May 2017 concert in Manchester, which killed 22 people and injured hundreds.
Grande has not commented on the incident, and the rest of the event proceeded as planned.
