A court in Singapore has charged a man who grabbed Ariana Grande at a premiere of Wicked: For Good on Thursday night with being a public nuisance.
Video footage shows Johnson Wen jumping over a barricade at Universal Studios Singapore and rushing at Grande on the red carpet. Grande’s co-star Cynthia Erivo immediately jumped in to help protect her and Wen was moved away.
Local media has indicated that Wen, 26, who is an Australian citizen, intends to plead guilty and could be fined up to S$2,000 (£1,168).
Wen regularly posts on Instagram as pyjamamann, where his stock-in-trade is invading concert stages, including those of Katy Perry and the Weeknd. The footage of his approach to Grande led to a substantial backlash, with many commenters calling his actions a criminal offence.
Grande and co-stars are shortly to complete their mammoth publicity tour for the film’s sequel, which is released on 21 November. The review embargo lifts on Tuesday and early reaction has suggested repeat Oscar nominations for the two stars are likely.
Red carpet invasions are increasingly uncommon as security has tightened over recent years. In 2007, podcaster Cielke Sijben handcuffed herself to Hugh Grant at a premiere of his romcom Music and Lyrics. Firefighters later freed the pair.
Bradley Cooper was accosted on the red carpet in 2014 by a Ukrainian TV prankster who buried his head in the actor’s trousers, having given Will Smith an unsolicited kiss at the Moscow premiere of Men in Black 3 in 2012. Also in 2012, Kim Kardashian was flourbombed at the red carpet event for her perfume launch by a Peta activist who called her a “fur hag”.
