Serial intruder who accosted Ariana Grande at Wicked premiere in Singapore sentenced to 9 days in prison

By Lex Harvey, CNN

(CNN) — An Australian serial intruder who accosted Ariana Grande during a Wicked premiere in Singapore was sentenced to 9 days in jail Monday for being a public nuisance.

Johnson Wen, 26, pleaded guilty to one charge of causing annoyance to the public after he jumped over the barricade at a premiere for “Wicked: For Good” on November 13 and rushed toward Grande, according to Singaporean news channel CNA.

Video of the interaction showed Wen running up to Grande and throwing his arms around her as she walked the yellow carpet with the Wicked cast at Universal Studios Singapore.

Grande’s co-star Cynthia Erivo stepped in to push Wen away from the pop star, who appeared shocked, before security guards tackled him.

CNN has reached out to Grande’s representatives for comment.

Wen, who goes by “Pyjama Man” on social media and calls himself the “Most Hated” troll, is a serial stage crasher.

He was charged by Australian police after he interrupted a Katy Perry concert in Sydney earlier this year, according to CNN-affiliate 9 News. An Instagram page under his name also includes videos of Wen crashing concerts by the Chainsmokers and The Weeknd, as well as sports events including the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

In a video of the intrusion posted to Instagram last week, Wen thanked Grande for “letting me jump on the yellow carpet with you.”

Social media users criticized Wen in the comments, calling his actions “unhinged” and “embarrassing.”

“Rushing a woman – any woman, let alone someone who has survived unimaginable trauma – is not a ‘prank.’ It’s not ‘a stunt.’ It’s not ‘funny.’ It’s pathetic, dangerous, and shows a total lack of respect for boundaries, safety, and basic human decency,” said one Instagram user.

Grande has spoken openly about suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a suicide bombing at her concert in Manchester, United Kingdom in May 2017, which killed 22 people.

Grande has not commented publicly on the counter with Wen. Erivo alluded to it during a special Screen Actors Guild screening in Los Angeles Saturday, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Sitting next to Grande, Erivo said “We have come through some s****. We have come through some stuff in our lives, in our daily workings. I mean… even this week.”

“We’ve had to really deal with some stuff, and this move has allowed us to really grow as people, as friends, as sisters, as artists, as actresses,” Erivo said, according to Entertainment Weekly.

During Wen’s sentencing, District Judge Christopher Goh told Wen he was “attention seeking,” while Deputy Public Prosecutor Jane Lim called Wen a “serial intruder” with a “glaring lack of remorse,” CNA reported.

Singapore is known for its strict no nonsense laws, designed to maintain public order and cleanliness, which include a ban on chewing gum sales.

Wen, who maintained a faint smile throughout the proceedings, said he was going to stop stage crashing and that he’s been “getting in trouble,” according to CNA.

Goh said while Wen has no criminal record in Singapore, this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this.

“And it does not appear that you had faced any sort of consequences for your past acts, and perhaps you thought that the same will occur here, that is to say, you would have suffered no consequences for the same acts here,” said the judge, according to CNA.

“Mr. Wen, you are wrong. You should be mindful that there are always consequences for one’s actions,” the judge said, adding he hoped the prison sentence would end Wen’s behavior “for good.”

The-CNN-Wire
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