Man Who Breached Security to Reach Ariana Grande at Singapore Premiere Permanently Banned from the Country
SINGAPORE - An Australian man who rushed the barricade and made physical contact with Ariana Grande at the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good on November 13th has been deported and barred from future entry, according to the immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Johnson wen, 26, was sentenced to nine days in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of public nuisance.
Wen bypassed security and photographers to reach Grande at the event. co-star Cynthia Erivo intervened, physically removing Wen from Grande. This incident follows a pattern of disruptive behaviour, including a stage rush at a Katy Perry concert in Sydney in June.
The breach sparked meaningful concern in Singapore, notably given Grande’s history with trauma stemming from the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, which left 22 dead and hundreds injured. Court documents revealed Wen attempted to breach security twice before successfully reaching Grande, being stopped and restrained by security staff on his second attempt.
Following the incident, Wen posted videos online claiming Grande had thanked him for reaching the carpet and declaring he was “free.” He was arrested the following day and charged with public nuisance.
District Judge Christopher Goh,as reported by Channel News Asia,stated Wen’s actions were “attention seeking” and that he wrongly assumed there would be no repercussions.Grande has not publicly commented on the case.
Erivo,speaking to NBC,emphasized her immediate concern for Grande’s safety. “I just wanted to make sure my friend was safe,” she said.”I’m sure he didn’t mean us harm, but you never know with those things, and I wanted to make sure that she was OK. That was my first instinct.”
