The Australian man who grabbed Ariana Grande at the premiere of Wicked: For Good in Singapore last week has been jailed for nine days.
Johnson Wen, 26, was sentenced on Monday (17 November) after pleading guilty to a charge of public nuisance. He had flown into Singapore from Australia on 11 November, the court heard.
Passing sentence, district judge Christopher Goh noted that Wen had behaved in a similar way on previous occasions.
“Perhaps you thought the same would occur here, but you are wrong. You should be mindful that there are always consequences for one’s actions,” the judge said. “You seem to be attention-seeking, thinking only of yourself, and not the safety of others, when committing these acts.”
The prosecution highlighted that Wen was a “serial intruder” and had posted a video of his latest action to gain popularity. The fact that he was a fan of the movie and the cast should not be considered a mitigating factor, deputy public prosecutor Jane Lim told the court, according to The Straits Times.
Wen, who is known online as Pyjama Man and frequently posts footage of himself performing public stunts, including during Katy Perry’s gig in Sydney and The Weeknd’s Melbourne concert, told the judge that he wouldn’t do it again.
He captioned his latest escapade, which took place at Universal Studios on Thursday (13 November): “Dear Ariana Grande, thank you for letting me jump on the yellow carpet with you.”
The court heard he had attempted to intrude on the premiere twice, including after he ran at Grande. He was then pinned to the floor by security and arrested the next day
Grande’s co-star Cynthia Erivo has been applauded for leaping to her defence during the incident.
For being a public nuisance in the city state, an offender can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to Singapore $2,000 (approximately £1,100/$1,500), or both.
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@pinknews A man who grabbed Ariana Grande at the 'Wicked' premiere in Singapore has been jailed for nine days for public nuisance. Johnson Wen, 26, was found guilty of the incident, which occurred last Thursday November 13. The court said: "You seem to be attention-seeking, thinking only of yourself and not the safety of others when committing these acts." "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." #wickedpremiere #singapore #arianagrande #johnsonwen #lgbtqia ♬ ■ News News-Drone-IT-AI(963995) – ImoKenpi-Dou
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