The crazed fan who vaulted a barricade and sprinted straight at Ariana Grande during the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good has now been charged.
Johnson Wen — the online prankster known as Pyjama Man — blew past security at Universal Studios on Thursday and latched onto Ariana, wrapping an arm around her as she struggled to pull away.
Cynthia Erivo immediately jumped in, shouting at Wen while throwing herself between him and Ariana, as security tackled the intruder and dragged him off. Ariana was left visibly shaken on the carpet.
Hours later, Wen uploaded a chilling selfie with manic eyes, pointing at an Ariana poster and bragging, ‘I finally met Ariana Grande tonight.’
Now Wen has been hit with a public nuisance charge, according to the BBC.
Local reports say he intends to plead guilty — and could be fined up to $1,540.
Crazed fan Johnson Wen, who vaulted a barricade and sprinted straight at Ariana Grande during the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good, has now been charged
Now Wen has been hit with a public nuisance charge, according to the BBC
After the incident, Wen didn’t stop there, posting a video to his social media saying, ‘Finally, I dreamed about meeting Ariana Grande and my dream became true,’ followed by a maniacal laugh: ‘Hee-hee-hee heeeeee.’
He even reposted footage of the red carpet ambush, captioning it: ‘Dear Ariana Grande Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You.’
Fans were furious, flooding social media with their outrage.
One wrote: ‘Do you think this is okay? This is sick! It ruined the experience for fans who dreamed of this moment and put lives at risk. All for pure ego! Seek help.’
Another slammed him: ‘You literally assaulted her. This isn’t a flex, it’s a crime. Shame on you!’
Others referenced Ariana’s past traumas, including the Manchester bombing and her ex Mac Miller’s overdose: ‘After all the trauma Ari has been through, this is beyond disrespectful. Not just to her, but to the cast and to all the fans. It’s literally infuriating. You should be ashamed.’
One fan called out his disturbing pattern: ‘Are you happy now? Does it bring you joy to disturb celebrities? That’s sad.’
Indeed, Wen is infamous for harassing stars, having shared videos of accosting Katy Perry, The Weeknd, and The Chainsmokers at gigs.
He was previously charged after interrupting Perry’s Sydney concert in June, facing two offenses: entering enclosed land and obstructing a person in performance of work or duties.
Wen was also issued with a notice barring him from entering the Sydney Olympic Park Precinct for six months.
Local reports say he intends to plead guilty — and could be fined up to $1,540
Wen even reposted footage of the red carpet ambush, captioning it: ‘Dear Ariana Grande Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You’
Fans were furious, flooding social media with their outrage
In 2020, he received a $250 fine for dangling from a Brisbane footbridge and also received a $220 fine for a pitch invasion at a 2021 rugby union match.
He boasts on his Instagram bio he is the ‘most hated troll’ and ‘2023 WorId Cup FinaI Pitch lnvader’.
He told 9News at the time he did it for fun and loves the rush of stage crashing.
Wen said: ‘I said “let me get on stage with you”, then she [Katy Perry] freaked out because she realised I wasn’t a performer. I was about to do like extra Fortnite moves but security got there too quick.’
Wen, who has insisted he isn’t a threat, has also conducted invasions at the Olympics in Paris, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the men’s Cricket World Cup final in India.
He said ‘I just got on there, and as soon as I got tackled I got in a lot of trouble,’ he said of the invasion in India.
Wen, who is unemployed and was last known to be living in a backpackers hostel, is said to have racked up $20,000 in fines, according to the publication.
At the time, he said he plans to stop crashing red carpets and stages, saying: ‘I’m planning to quit forever because you get in way too much trouble for it, especially me, because I’ve done it so many times.’
Grande was walking the yellow brick carpet on Thursday night alongside her fellow “Wicked” actors Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum and director Jon M. Chu
Ariana and Cynthia held hands after the incident at the Wicked event
In December last year, Wen ran on stage at The Chainsmokers’ at the Palm Tree Festival in Sydney, with security pulling his legs out from underneath him to try to stop him from.
Then in August, the Instagrammer invaded The Weeknd’s stage at his Melbourne show.
The singer lost his ear piece as he tried to release himself from Wen, who had grabbed hold of him.
Meanwhile, despite enraged fans, Wen avoided jail time on Thursday — at least for now — later posting that he was ‘free’ after being tackled by security and dragged from the red carpet.
However, after Ariana was saved at the Wicked red carpet, she appeared visibly shaken, letting out deep breaths while walking beside Cynthia.
Ariana has previously spoken about struggling with PTSD after her concert was bombed in Manchester in 2017, leaving 22 people dead.
She told British Vogue of PTSD in 2018: ‘Yeah, it’s a real thing. I know those families and my fans, and everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of it as well.
‘It’s hard to talk about because so many people have suffered such severe, tremendous loss … I feel like I shouldn’t even be talking about my own experience – like I shouldn’t even say anything. I don’t think I’ll ever know how to talk about.’
In the same interview, she opened up about her ongoing struggles with anxiety.
Indeed, Wen is infamous for harassing stars, having shared videos of accosting Katy Perry, The Weeknd, and The Chainsmokers at gigs
He was previously charged after interrupting Perry’s Sydney concert in June, facing two offenses: entering enclosed land and obstructing a person in performance of work or duties
‘I think a lot of people have anxiety, especially right now … My anxiety has anxiety. ‘I’ve always had anxiety.
‘I’ve never really spoken about it because I thought everyone had it, but when I got home from tour, it was the most severe I think it’s ever been.’
A couple of years later, in 2020, Ariana’s then-manager Scooter Braun revealed that on the three-year anniversary of the Manchester bombing, the pop star was still struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
He said: ‘When she found out that fans of hers had died she was so sad.
‘She cried for days, she felt everything – every face they announced, every name, she wore on her sleeve. Every bit of emotion because that’s who she is.’
He recalled that the pairs’ visits to the families in the days after the attack were the ‘hardest two hours of either of our lives’.
‘After the first family I had to help her, she was distraught and I was lost. It was beyond tough. But every single time we got down we reminded each other we get to go home.’
Even after surviving the Manchester bombing and obsessive fans like Wen, Ariana keeps performing, showing she won’t be intimidated.
Time will tell if Wen targets more stars, but one thing is clear: he won’t stop Ariana.
