An Australian man has been jailed after viral videos showed him jumping the barricade at the Wicked: For Good premiere in Singapore and grabbing Ariana Grande.
Johnson Wen, 26, pleaded guilty to one charge of being a public nuisance Monday and was sentenced to nine days in jail.
Footage of the incident, which occurred last Thursday, showed Cynthia Erivo rushing to defend her Wicked co-star before security intervened and pushed Wen away. Grande — whose 2017 concert in Manchester was famously the site of a fatal terrorist attack — appeared visibly shaken by the incident.
Later that night, Wen, who describes himself as “Troll Most Hated” on his Instagram, posted a video of the incident alongside the caption: “Dear Ariana Grande Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You.”
He was arrested and charged in a Singaporean court the following day, where he has been in remand since.
Prosecutors sought a week’s jail for Wen, local media reported, noting that he is a “serial intruder” and frequently posts videos of himself crashing high-profile events, such as a Katy Perry concert earlier this year.
When asked by District Judge Christopher Goh if he had anything to say in mitigation, Wen said, “I won’t do it again, Your Honour,” according to The Straits Times.
“You seem to be attention-seeking, thinking only of yourself, and not the safety of others, when committing these acts,” the judge added.
In the Asian city-state, the charge could have resulted in a prison sentence of up to three months, a fine of up to S$2000 ($1540; £1170) or both.
The troll faced widespread criticism on social media, particularly in light of the Manchester bombing at Grande’s concert, which killed 22 and left hundreds injured.
“Ariana has been through so many scary things... and at her Manchester concert and you thought it would be fun to jump the barricade?” wrote one person.
Meanwhile, Erivo was praised by fans for her quick intervention.
Jon M. Chu’s highly anticipated sequel, out later this month, arrives a year after the release of Wicked: Part One, which welcomed Grande and Erivo in their respective Oscar-nominated roles as Glinda and Elphaba.
The sequel will also see the return of Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, and Marissa Bode as Nessarose.
Wicked: For Good will be available to watch in theaters on November 21.
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