bitchy | The man who attacked Ariana Grande in Singapore was charged as a ‘public nuisance’

Last week, there were two big premiere events for Wicked: For Good. The London premiere went off without a hitch, the choreography of the red carpet was perfect and all eyes were on Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Then, days later, the cast traveled to Singapore for another premiere. They put Michelle Yeoh front-and-center alongside Ari and Cynthia, and all three women were trying to walk down the carpet together, hand-in-hand. Then, suddenly, a man broke through the red carpet barriers and ran full-speed at Ariana. He grabbed her, throwing one arm around her shoulders and holding on to her neck for a brief moment. Before the bodyguards and security guys could do anything, Cynthia swiftly moved in and got the man’s hands off of Ariana. Michelle and Cynthia then circled Ariana protectively, trying to keep her calm after the attack. Here’s what happened:

The assailant has been identified – he’s a YouTuber and social media personality named Johnson Wen. He was arrested but he was only charged with “being a public nuisance.”

A court in Singapore has charged a man who grabbed Ariana Grande at a premiere of Wicked: For Good on Thursday night with being a public nuisance.

Video footage shows Johnson Wen jumping over a barricade at Universal Studios Singapore and rushing at Grande on the red carpet. Grande’s co-star Cynthia Erivo immediately jumped in to help protect her and Wen was moved away.

Local media has indicated that Wen, 26, who is an Australian citizen, intends to plead guilty and could be fined up to S$2,000 (£1,168).

Wen regularly posts on Instagram as pyjamamann, where his stock-in-trade is invading concert stages, including those of Katy Perry and the Weeknd. The footage of his approach to Grande led to a substantial backlash, with many commenters calling his actions a criminal offence.

[From The Guardian]

Yeah, any man who rushes up to a woman and grabs her roughly should be charged with a lot more than “being a public nuisance.” He should be charged with assault, because that’s what he did: he assaulted a woman in public, in full view, hoping to humiliate her or scare her or trigger some kind of horrible reaction. I hate that there are so many people (men) who think this kind of sh-t will make them famous, or that being a creep is the way to notoriety.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.