Ariana Grande’s big night in Singapore took a frightening turn when a man suddenly rushed toward her on the red carpet. The moment spread online almost instantly, and one of her Wicked co stars is calling out anyone trying to excuse what happened. Video from the premiere shows the man, identified as Wen, breaking through the barricade and heading straight for Grande.
Before security could even react, Cynthia Erivo stepped in. She moved fast, putting herself between Grande and the man, and appeared to shout him down while shielding her co star. Security officers jumped in seconds later and pulled the man away while Erivo and Michelle Yeoh checked on Grande, who looked shaken but unharmed.
The situation had barely settled before Marissa, the 25 year old actress who plays Nessarose Thropp in the Wicked films, spoke out. She pushed back hard against the idea that the man was simply an overexcited supporter. In a TikTok video, she responded to people online calling him a fan and said, “‘But they’re a fan!’ Okay. Then they’re a fan and a loser.” She made it clear that admiration does not excuse frightening behavior.
Marissa also talked about the bigger pattern she has seen at concerts and public events, especially with how social media has made some people feel way too entitled to celebrities’ personal space. She said she has discussed issues of “parasociality, especially at things like concerts or just when someone in the public eye is at an event, like people throwing s–t on stage mid-performance.” She said moments like this are exactly what she means when she warns about how online culture can bring out the worst in people.
She didn’t hold back. “This is what I mean when I say social media brings out the worst in people,” she said. “Oh, did you get your views? Did you get your likes? Guess what you also did? You made somebody feel incredibly unsafe, but just — no remorse. That goes over your head. You’re a bad person.” Her message was direct and emotional, focusing on how dangerous and unsettling these situations can be for the person at the center of them.
She added that she doesn’t think “women, or really anybody, should be expected to move with grace or respond with kindness when they’ve been violated in that way, and to expect that makes you a weirdo also.” Her point was simple. No one deserves to be put in a position where they fear for their safety, and no one should be pressured to respond politely afterward.
For Grande, the premiere continued after the tense moment, but fans and cast members made it clear that the excitement around the movie should never come at the cost of someone feeling unsafe.
