An Australian influencer who lunged at the actress Ariana Grande at a film premiere in Singapore was sentenced on Monday to nine days in jail.
The Australian man, Johnson Wen, 26, pleaded guilty to one charge of being a public nuisance after he leaped over a barricade and rushed toward Ms. Grande at Thursday’s Asia-Pacific premiere of “Wicked: For Good.”
Videos that circulated widely on social media showed Ms. Grande walking on a yellow carpet at Universal Studios Singapore past a crowd of screaming fans. Mr. Wen, wearing a shirt reading “Jesus,” leaped over the barricade, wrapped an arm around Ms. Grande and jumped up and down, to her apparent astonishment.
As her co-star Cynthia Erivo confronted him security officers quickly grabbed him, pushed him back over the barricade and took him away.
Ms. Grande appeared startled but continued greeting fans after her castmates, including Michelle Yeoh, gathered around her.
Singapore District Judge Christopher Goh on Monday called Mr. Wen “attention-seeking” and said he had assumed wrongly that his actions would carry no consequences.
Mr. Wen is an online content creator who goes by the moniker Pyjama Man. He has a history of disrupting high-profile events, including concerts by Katy Perry and the Weeknd in Australia this year, and documenting the intrusions on social media.
He also rushed onto the playing field during the Cricket World Cup final in India in 2023, wearing a shirt with a pro-Palestinian message. His TikTok page bills him as “2023 World Cup Final Pitch Invader” as well as “Troll Most Hated.”
Appearing via video link, he smiled throughout his court proceedings, the Singapore news outlet Channel News Asia reported.
Prosecutors cited what they called his “glaring lack of remorse,” but in his defense Mr. Wen said, “I won’t do it again, your honor.”
In sentencing Mr. Wen, the judge said, “It was fortunate that something bad did not occur,” and chided him for “thinking only of yourself and not the safety of others when committing these acts.”
The incident rattled many in Singapore, which sees itself as an orderly, law-abiding nation and is only infrequently the site of major Hollywood premieres. An opinion essay published Monday in The Straits Times, a newspaper, said: “Singapore may not be particularly known for many things, but the one thing we are known for is safety. And what of that reputation now?”
Victor Mather, who has been a reporter and editor at The Times for 25 years, covers sports and breaking news.
The post Man Who Rushed Ariana Grande in Singapore Gets 9 Days in Jail appeared first on New York Times.
