An Australian man who rushed film star Ariana Grande during the Singapore premiere for “Wicked: For Good” has been deported after completing a nine-day jail term, local media reported.
The man, Johnson Wen, was sent back to Australia and “has been barred from re-entering Singapore,” the city-state’s immigration authority said in a statement quoted by broadcaster CNA.
Grande and other stars were attending the opening night of the highly anticipated film at Universal Studios in Singapore when 26-year-old Wen jumped a barricade and rushed the actor. He put his arm around Grande.
Viral clips showed Grande’s co-star, Cynthia Erivo, rushing to her defense, getting in between the two of them and shoving him away. Wen was then grabbed by security guards and dumped back over the barricade.
Footage shows Erivo and others on the red carpet comforting Grande.
Wen was arrested hours later and charged with “being a public nuisance.” Last week, a court sentenced him to nine days in jail.
After the incident, Wen shared a video on Instagram and thanked Grande for “letting (him) jump on the Yellow Carpet” with her.
Singapore District Judge Christopher Goh, who issued the jail sentence, called the Australian “attention seeking.”
Wen, who is alleged to have disrupted other global sports events and concerts, “showed a pattern of behaviour” which suggested that he will do it again, the judge had said before last week’s ruling.
The jail term was far below the maximum penalty afforded by law: three months in jail, a fine of $1,500, or both.
Wen has told the court he was “wrong” to think his actions would bear no consequences and promised not to repeat the act.
“Wicked: For Good” was released in the United States on Friday.
Grande and Erivo have been inseparable during the movie musical’s press tours. In December 2024, Erivo told “CBS Mornings” that the duo made a pact early in production to take care of and support each other.
“Before we started shooting, both of us had a conversation about making sure that we would take care of each other and make the space that we needed for each other, and take, you know, give each other what we needed, be generous with each other in this thing, because we knew it was a big undertaking,” Erivo said. “We knew we had a big responsibility, but we knew neither of us could really do that alone.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wicked-for-good-singapore-premire-ariana-grande-man-deported/
