The man who charged at pop superstar Ariana Grande at Universal Studios Singapore in Sentosa was charged with being a public nuisance.
Johnson Wen, 26, an Australian who appeared in a district court yesterday via video link, is accused of committing the offence on Thursday at the premiere of Wicked: For Good, which Grande stars in.
An unrepresented Wen told the court yesterday that he intends to plead guilty. He is expected to do so on Monday.
According to court documents, he allegedly caused a commotion during the event on Thursday evening.
In multiple videos of the incident at the theme park at Resorts World Sentosa that have gone viral, Wen jumped a barricade and rushed towards the actress, putting his arm around her.
She recoiled in shock, but co-star Cynthia Erivo forced herself between Grande and Wen, while security guards quickly apprehended him.
He was then tossed back over the barricade by a member of the security team.
After the incident, the rest of the cast – including Michelle Yeoh – quickly huddled around Grande to check if she was unharmed before continuing down the yellow carpet to greet fans and sign autographs.
Footage posted online showed Wen being escorted out of the venue by security.
Wen is a serial intruder, having disrupted numerous international shows and events, including Katy Perry’s Sydney concert in June and the men’s 100m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
He has an Instagram account where he documents his antics, with his bio describing himself as the “2023 World Cup Final Pitch Invader” and “Troll Most Hated”.
The Sentosa premiere was the only Asian stop on the film’s international promotional tour, which ends in New York City on Nov 17.
Grande, Erivo, Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum and director Jon M. Chu were greeting fans, who had paid more than S$90 (RM286) to enter the ticketed event.
For being a public nuisance, an offender can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$2,000 (RM6,345) or both.
Grande has previously spoken about her struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety following a bombing at her Manchester concert in May 2017, which left 22 people dead.
“I’ve always had anxiety,” she told British Vogue in 2018.
“I’ve never really spoken about it because I thought everyone had it, but when I got home from tour (in September 2017), it was the most severe I think it’s ever been.” — The Straits Times/ANN
