An Internet provocateur will serve nine days behind bars for physically assaulting Ariana Grande at a movie premiere in Singapore.
The Singaporean courts slapped Johnson Wen, 26, with a conviction for being a public nuisance over the ambush, which took place last Thursday when the star was in the Asian city-state to promote her new movie Wicked: For Good.
Videos circulating on social media showed how Wen, who was described by prosecutors as a “serial intruder,” leapt over the barriers and charged toward the stunned-looking pop star.
Wen then grabbed Grande’s shoulders and began thrusting up and down before her co-star Cynthia Erivo shoved him back and security dragged him away.
The online backlash was swift and fierce, with many commentators arguing Wen had only served to “retraumatize” Grande.
Grande, whose May 2017 concert in Manchester in the United Kingdom was the target of a suicide bombing that left 22 people dead and hundreds more injured, has previously spoken of her struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder in the aftermath of the killings.
Wen has previously shared online videos of himself causing havoc at concerts held by the likes of The Weeknd and Katy Perry, as well as charging onto the field at a number of sports events.
According to Australian media, he’s been banned from several stadiums and has incurred considerable fines for his behavior in his home country.
Wen was not accompanied by legal representatives at his hearing on Monday, where he told the judge he simply would “not do it again.”
Co-star Erivo addressed the incident during a special Screen Actors Guild screening held at the Television Academy in Los Angeles.
“We have come through some sh-t. We have come through some stuff in our lives, in our daily workings. I mean, f–k, even this last week,“ she said.
“Let’s be honest, for f–k’s sakes, we’ve had to really deal with some stuff, and this movie has allowed us to really grow as people, as friends, as sisters, as artists, as actresses,” she added.
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