Australian man, 26, who grabbed Ariana Grande at S'pore 'Wicked' premiere, gets 9 days' jail

The man, who grabbed Ariana Grande at the Singapore premiere of "Wicked: For Good" on Nov. 13, has been sentenced to 9 days' jail.

Johnson Wen, 26, an Australian national, pleaded guilty on Nov. 17 to one charge of causing annoyance to the public by causing a commotion.

"I would not do it again," Wen said during mitigation in court via video-link from his place of remand.

When asked by the judge if this was merely lip service or if it was indeed his intention, Wen affirmed that he would not do it again and would stop getting in trouble.

Although the prosecution asked for a one-week jail term for Wen, the judge felt that an uplift in the sentence was required and meted out nine days in jail instead.

Wen's sentence is backdated to the day of his arrest on Nov. 14.

Prosecution

The prosecution sought for a one-week jail term, saying that the custodial threshold was crossed in his case.

While this was his first offence in Singapore, the prosecution noted that Wen committed similar offences overseas and his actions were premeditated.

Wen, who goes by @pyjamamann on Instagram, makes it his "brand" on social media to document himself disrupting and crashing events, they said.

Furthermore, he attempted to run towards the cast member a second time after being stopped the first time, before security officers escorted him away.

He also "brazenly" posted on his Instagram story after his acts to emphasise that he was free after being arrested and even reposted videos to further publicise his actions, the prosecution said.

"A sufficiently deterrent sentence is needed to impress upon the accused that such conduct is criminal in nature and will not be condoned in Singapore," the prosecutor said.

She also added that a strong signal is also needed to show other like-minded individuals that we do not condone any act that potentially undermines the reputation of Singapore as a safe country.

Wen's defence

Wen, who was unrepresented, appeared confused at several points after the statement of facts was read, asking if he was facing any other charges or if he will be sentenced immediately.

When he was asked if he admitted to everything in the statement, he asked for the question to be repeated before saying: "I would not do it again."

During mitigation, Wen again told the judge that he would not repeat his action again.

9 days' jail

The judge agreed that the custodial threshold has been crossed, saying that Wen has done similar acts in other countries, despite this being his first time in Singapore.

He also agreed that his acts were premeditated, having waited for the cast members before crossing over to the yellow carpet.

The judge felt that an uplift in the sentence was required.

Jumped barrier

Videos of Wen's action went viral online globally, where he could be seen jumping over the barrier and running to put his arms around Grande at the yellow carpet held at Resorts World Sentosa.

The singer-actress was visibly shocked before Wen was intercepted by co-star Cynthia Erivo and security personnel quickly.

Online sleuths later identified him as a serial event crasher, who goes by @pyjamamann on Instagram.

He previously disrupted events, including Katy Perry’s Sydney concert, The Weeknd’s Melbourne show, and also at the men’s 100m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

On the day of the yellow carpet event on Nov. 13, Wen had posted on his Instagram stories declaring that he has "finally met Ariana Grande", as well as another post with the caption, "I'm free after being arrested".

Top photos from Mothership reader and pyjamamann/Instagram