The Wicked: For Good premiere was held on Thursday (November 13),in Singapore. But the film’s debut and early reviews were quickly overshadowed by an incident that left fans alarmed. Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda in the highly anticipated film, was accosted on the yellow brick road-carpet by a man who ran toward her.
What happened?
Ariana was walking the carpet at Universal Studios Singapore with co-stars Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum when the man approached her. Videos captured from multiple angles showed him sprinting toward her, turning and grabbing her. The man, dressed in a white shirt and shorts, had long black hair with blue streaks. He put his arm around Grande and pulled her close as she tried to move away.
Erivo, who plays Elphaba, reacted immediately. She stepped between Grande and the man and appeared to shout at him. Security staff intervened within seconds and removed the man from the area. Grande looked shaken as Cynthia and Michelle stayed beside her.
Man identified as serial red carpet crasher
Fans online quickly identified the man as 25-year-old Australian influencer Johnson Wen, also known as “Pyjama Man.” Johnson later bragged about the whole thing on social media, posting a video of the moment on his personal account and captioning it, “Dear Ariana Grande Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You ❤️.”
Unsurprisingly, this is not the first time Johnson has pulled a stunt like this. In June, he jumped onstage during a Katy Perry performance. In August, he attempted to crash The Weeknd’s show before being removed by security. Bizarrely, he has also done the same to Virat Kohli.
Fans react with anger
The reaction to Wen’s post was overwhelmingly negative. One comment read, “You’re the reason why we get less appearances in Asia.” Another said, “Are you happy now? Does it bring you joy to disturb celebrities? That’s sad.” Other users questioned his behaviour. “Oh wow so you do this a lot…and how aren’t you in jail?” one wrote. Another said, “Because of your nuisance, she might NOT come back to Singapore again! Come on man, What the heck?!!!!” Comments continued to pour in, including, “imagine making this your entire personality 🙄” and “This an awful thing to do…. This is not a flex thing to do!!!! My gosh…. Have some respect for the artist!!!”
Fans now hope Ariana will continue with upcoming promotional appearances without further disruptions.
