Crazed fan who 'jumped on' Ariana Grande at Wicked premiere deported from Singapore
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were walking the 'yellow brick carpet' at the Wicked: For Good premiere when the fan jumped the barrier
The man who grabbed Ariana Grande at the Wicked premiere earlier this month has been deported, authorities confirm.
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Johnson Wen, 26, was sent back to Australia on Sunday and has been "barred from re-entering Singapore", according to a spokesperson for the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
Local outlets reported that Wen was given a nine-day jail sentence for public nuisance following the incident on 13 November at Universal Studios Singapore.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were walking the 'yellow brick carpet' at the Wicked: For Good premiere when the fan jumped the barrier.
Fans screamed on from all sides as the leading ladies signed autographs and snapped selfies. In footage shared on social media, the TikToker rushes towards Ariana Grande. He grabs her by the shoulders and jostles her, smiling and waving to the crowd, while the startled star looks around for help.
Before security rush in, Cynthia Arivo grabs the fan and pries him away from Ariana. The singer looks shaken and takes deep breaths as her co-stars hug her.
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Erivo and fellow cast member Michelle Yeoh were seen comforting the singer afterwards. Speaking to NBC News last week, Erivo said: “I just wanted to make sure my friend was safe.”
She added: “I’m sure he didn’t mean us harm, but I just, you never know with those things and I wanted to make sure that she was OK.”
So-called 'Pyjama Man' makes social media videos rushing celebrities, with footage lauded on his account showing him grabbing Katy Perry and The Weeknd.
He brags under his video of the incident: "Dear Ariana Grande, thanks for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You."
He later told NBC News he is a “mega fan” who had “dreamed about meeting her.”
Grande has not publicly commented.
A Singapore judge reportedly told Wen he was “attention-seeking” and warned him that assuming his behaviour would have no consequences in the country was wrong, Channel News Asia said.
The episode drew criticism online, including from Grande’s supporters, noting that the singer has previously spoken about suffering PTSD after the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, which killed 22 people.
“Wicked: For Good,” released in the US on Friday by Universal Pictures, opened to an estimated $150m domestically and $226m worldwide - the biggest opening weekend ever for a Broadway adaptation, surpassing last year’s first “Wicked” film.