Ariana Grande Red Carpet Grabber Arrested, Previously Rushed Katy Perry
The man who made global headlines by rushing and grabbing Ariana Grande on the Wicked: For Good red carpet Thursday has been arrested and charged in Singapore. Johnson Wen, a 26-year-old Australian, was charged with “being a public nuisance,” according to the BBC. He posted on Instagram that he was already “free after being arrested”…
The man who made global headlines by rushing and grabbing Ariana Grande on the Wicked: For Good red carpet Thursday has been arrested and charged in Singapore.
Johnson Wen, a 26-year-old Australian, was charged with “being a public nuisance,” according to the BBC. He posted on Instagram that he was already “free after being arrested” in an incident that reportedly “caused massive outrage” in Singapore. The charge carries a rather mild penalty — a roughly $1,500 fine if found guilty.
Wen calls himself “Troll Most Hated” on his Instagram and apparently has a history of pulling this sort of stunt. He has previously posted clips of him disrupting other events — such as jumping onstage at concerts by Katy Perry, The Weeknd and The Chainsmokers, as well as running onto the field at sporting events.
The Grande grabber also posted an unrepentant clip after being freed with a song playing in the background containing the lyric, “If I had to do it all over again, I’d still do it all over again.”
Here are those clips:
The original incident happened during a premiere event at a Singapore mall for the highly anticipated musical sequel. Hundreds of fans were in attendance as the film’s cast walked the red carpet. Wen broke through past photographers and aggressively threw his arms around Grande, leaving her appearing very shaken (she has not commented on the incident). Grande’s Wicked: For Good co-star Cynthia Erivo immediately jumped in, helped shove the fan away and then protectively put her arms around Grande.
In 2017, a terrorist attack occurred outside a Grande concert in Manchester, England, with a suicide bomber killing 22 attendees. Earlier this year, Grande spoke to The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast about experiencing psychological fallout from the tragedy.
“I was doing so much therapy, and I was dealing with PTSD and all different kinds of grief and depression and anxiety,” she said. “I was, of course, treating it very seriously, but having music be a part of that remedy was absolutely contributing to saving my life. They were dark times, and the music brought so much levity.” After the red carpet incident, some fans have accused Wen on social media of “re-traumatizing” the actress.
Wicked: For Good had its European premiere in London earlier this week where the stars ofJon M. Chu‘sWickedsequel were joined by fellow castmembersJonathan Bailey,Jeff Goldblum,Ethan Slater and Marissa Bode. The first of Chu’sWickedfilms debuted to critical acclaim and swiftly accrued more than $750 million at the global box office. Such was the success of the movie that Erivo and Grande were both nominated for Academy Awards in the best actress and best supporting actress categories, respectively, at the 2025 Oscars. The movie also scored a best picture nomination.
Wicked: For Good is released in theaters Nov. 21 and is currently tracking for a mammoth $115 to $125 million opening at the Thanksgiving box office.
