Topline
A man who ran from the crowd and threw his arms around Ariana Grande at a premiere of “Wicked: For Good” has been sentenced to nine days in jail by Singaporean authorities after being found guilty of being a public nuisance.
Ariana Grande attends the “Wicked: For Good” Asia-Pacific Premiere at Universal Studio Singapore on Nov. 13, 2025.
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Key Facts
The incident went viral on social media after Australian Johnson Wen, who has previously posted videos of himself misbehaving at concerts and running onto the field at sporting events, rushed at Grande, throwing his arms around her neck.
Grande’s “Wicked” co-star Cynthia Erivo can be seen pulling Wen off of Grande as co-star Michelle Yeoh ushers her away.
Wen was escorted out by staff and reportedly later made a second unsuccessful attempt to jump barricades before being pinned down by security personnel.
Wen, described by prosecutors as a “serial intruder” seeking online popularity, was arrested the next day, found guilty and sentenced to nine days in jail.
Grande, who reportedly skipped greeting fans as she left the event, has not commented on the incident and captioned her Instagram post about the stop, “thank you, Singapore ♡ we love you.”
Erivo appeared to allude to the attack while speaking at a special Screen Actors Guild screening of the film on Saturday, saying: “We have come through some s**t… Even this last week. Let’s be honest, for f**k’s sakes, we’ve had to really deal with some stuff.”
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Key Background
The event sparked outrage in Singapore, where some called for his deportation, and online, where Grande’s fans questioned the policies of Instagram and other social media sites that allowed the videos to go viral. Several fans said they were worried Wen had “re-traumatized” Grande, who has spoken about her experience with post-traumatic stress disorder after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at a 2017 concert, killing 22 people. She said that event caused her the “most severe” anxiety she’d ever experienced.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/11/17/man-who-grabbed-ariana-grande-at-wicked-for-good-premiere-jailed-in-singapore/
