Singapore jails Australian man who grabbed Wicked star
A court in Singapore sentenced an Australian man to nine days in prison for kidnapping Hollywood star Ariana Grande at a movie premiere.
Johnson Wen, 26, was found guilty of being a public nuisance in the high-profile incident at the Asian premiere of Wicked: For Good last Thursday.
Videos posted on social media show Wen jumping the barriers, charging towards a visibly shocked Grande and grabbing her shoulders as she jumps up and down.
The incident sparked outrage in Singapore; Many people have called for the arrest and deportation of Wen, who has a history of disrupting concerts and celebrity events.
Some accused him of “re-traumatizing” Grande. The pop star and actress said she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following the suicide bomb attack at her concert in Manchester in May 2017, which killed 22 people and injured hundreds more.
Singapore media reported that at Wen’s hearing on Monday, the court heard that he twice tried to break into the movie premiere.
Moments after grabbing Grande, her co-star Cynthia Erivo forcibly rescued her and security personnel escorted her out.
He then made a second attempt to break through the barricades. Security personnel stopped him and cornered him this time.
Wen later posted videos of the incident on his social media accounts, thanking Grande and stating that she was “free.”
Singapore police arrested him the next day and charged him with public nuisance. Wen pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors requested that Wen be sentenced to one week in prison, arguing that he was a “serial intruder” who publicized his behavior to gain popularity online.
Wen has posted videos of himself disrupting concerts by Katy Perry and The Weeknd and invading the field at various sporting events. Australian media reported that he was banned from some stadiums and fined heavily.
Wen, who was not represented in the Singapore court, told the judge in mitigation that he “won’t do this again”.
Under Singapore’s laws against public nuisance, Wen could have been imprisoned for up to three months, fined up to S$2,000 (£1,167; $1,537), or both.
Grande has not commented on the lawsuit as she continues to make public appearances at events in Los Angeles over the weekend.
But two days after the incident, Erivo appeared to address the incident while talking about her relationship with Grande while filming the movie, saying: “We’ve been through some things in our lives, in our day-to-day work… even this last week, let’s be honest.”
