‘Troll’ who accosted Ariana Grande is banned from Singapore (but not Instagram)
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- Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority has deported and barred 26-year-old Johnson Wen from reentering the country after he crashed the yellow carpet and accosted star Ariana Grande.
- During his trial in Singapore, the Australian national said he was “going to stop” crashing high-profile events, then re-shared the incident with Grande on his Instagram.
For officials in Singapore, one Australian man’s actions at the “Wicked: For Good” premiere earlier this month wrought enough chaos to keep him out of the country — for good.
Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority has deported and barred 26-year-old Johnson Wen from reentering the country after he crashed the yellow carpet and accosted star Ariana Grande, according to several reports. A representative for the authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Singapore’s the Straits Times reported that Australian national Wen arrived in the country earlier this month on a 90-day social-visit pass to attend the movie musical’s premiere and for a vacation. The self-proclaimed “Troll Most Hated” was seen in video jumping over the fan barricade onto the other side of the carpet. He ran toward Grammy winner Grande with his arms and legs flailing before grabbing her roughly around the neck and shoulders. He turned and smiled for the cameras before Grande’s co-star Cynthia Erivo interfered and separated Wen from Grande. He was arrested, charged and later released.
There’s no rest for the whirling visuals, but Jon M. Chu’s follow-up to “Wicked” works when it stops to admire the powerhouse duo of Cynthia Erivo and the hilarious Ariana Grande.
Wen, who has a history of crashing other celebrity events including concerts down under by Katy Perry and the Weeknd, was charged with being a public nuisance days after the incident. Shortly after that, he was convicted and sentenced to nine days in jail.
During his trial in Singapore, Wen said he was “going to stop,” according to the Straits Times. His courtroom statement, however, doesn’t seem to match up with his tone on social media.
After a sleepy October, the box office was dominated this weekend by a highly-anticipated sequel, “Wicked: For Good,” with $150 million in domestic ticket sales.
Wen re-shared video of the incident Sunday on Instagram. “Dear Ariana Grande thanks for letting me join the Red Carpet 💛,” he captioned the video.
“Wicked: For Good” premiered Friday, a year after after the first “Wicked” film. The sequel also stars Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode and Jonathan Bailey. Jon M. Chu directs both films.
Times assistant editor Christie D’Zurilla contributed to this report.
