The man who attempted to attack pop star and actress Ariana Grande at a red carpet event in Singapore last week has been charged in court in the incident.
The frightening incident occurred last week during the premiere of "Wicked: For Good" in Singapore. While Grande and her co-stars were walking the yellow carpet, a man suddenly jumped onto it, bypassed security, and lunged at her.
Actress Cynthia Erivo, who plays main character Elphaba, immediately sprang into action, shouting and pushing the man away. Meanwhile, actress Michelle Yeoh, who portrays Madame Morrible, embraced Grande and checked to see if she was okay. After several tense seconds and a noticeable delay, security guards managed to subdue the intruder and forcibly removed him from the area.
At a special screening of the film in Los Angeles on Saturday, Erivo referenced the incident, telling the audience: “We’ve been through some scary things—just last week, actually, to be honest.”
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Actress Cynthia Erivo protects Ariana Grande from attacking fan in Singapore
(Photo: From X platform)
The attacker was identified as Johnson Wen, a self-proclaimed social media "troll" from Australia who calls himself “the most hated troll.” He has 12,500 Instagram followers and nearly 40,000 TikTok followers. There appears to be no remorse—his bio reads “Ariana Grande is queen,” and he proudly shared the video of himself harassing her, which has racked up over 17.5 million views.
Wen has previously pulled similar stunts on celebrities including Katy Perry, The Weeknd, and The Chainsmokers, but had never faced consequences until now. This time, however, he was arrested in Singapore and charged in court with public disorder. He was later released, and reports indicate that he plans to plead guilty without legal representation. If convicted, he could face a fine of up to $1,540.
Marissa Bode, who plays Nessarose in the film, responded to the incident on social media, criticizing those defending Wen under the guise of fandom. “He’s a fan? Okay, then he’s a fan and a loser,” she wrote. “You got your views and likes? Guess what else you did? You made someone feel unsafe.”
She continued: “I don’t think we should expect women – or anyone, for that matter – to respond politely or kindly when attacked like that. And if you do expect that, you’re delusional. The problem is that most famous women do feel like they have to respond kindly, because they know what people will say about them if they don’t.”
Grande’s fans also expressed concern online, particularly given her past trauma. In 2017, following one of her concerts in Manchester, a suicide bomber detonated a device, killing 22 people and injuring hundreds. Grande has since spoken publicly about struggling with PTSD after the tragedy.