THE city-state has deported an Australian man at the end of a nine-day jail term for rushing at American film star Ariana Grande during the Asian premiere of Wicked: For Good, local media reported.
The man, Johnson Wen, was sent back to Australia “and has been barred from re-entering Singapore”, the city-state’s immigration authority said in a statement quoted by broadcaster Can yesterday.
On the opening night of the much-hyped Wicked sequel on Nov 13, Wen jumped over a barricade and put his arm around Grande.
He was arrested hours later and subsequently charged with “being a public nuisance”.
Last week, a court sentenced Wen to nine days in jail.
Video clips, which have gone viral online, show Wen wrapping his arm around the shocked star before jumping up and down and smilingly waving to the crowd.
Grande’s co-star Cynthia Erivo then rushes to her defence and the man is grabbed by security guards and dumped back over the barricade.
Singapore District Judge Christopher Goh, who issued the jail sentence, called the Australian “attention seeking”.
Wen, who is alleged to have disrupted other global sports events and concerts, “showed a pattern of behaviour” which suggested that he will do it again, the judge had said before last week’s ruling. — AFP
