Ariana Grande was left visibly shaken at the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good on Thursday after a man suddenly lunged at her on the yellow carpet — prompting co-star Cynthia Erivo to leap in front of her in a split-second act of protection.
Ariana, 32, was walking arm-in-arm with Cynthia, 38, when the man sprinted towards them. Video circulating online shows him grabbing Ariana around the shoulders as she desperately tried to pull away. Before security could react, Cynthia “jumped right between them,” according to onlookers, appearing to shout at the man while pushing him back.
Moments later, several guards dragged him off, leaving Ariana trembling as Cynthia wrapped an arm around her and tried to calm her down.
The intruder was quickly identified as Johnson Wen — a notorious Australian red-carpet crasher known online as “Pyjama Man,” infamous for storming stages at concerts by Katy Perry, The Weeknd and The Chainsmokers. Moments before the incident, he filmed himself standing beneath a poster of Ariana, saying it was his “dream” to meet her and calling her “my best friend” before letting out a theatrical laugh.
After being tackled to the ground, Wen boasted online that he was “free,” prompting furious Ariana fans to flood his comments. One wrote that “after all the trauma Ari has been through, this is beyond disrespectful,” while another warned that his behaviour was “extremely dangerous.”
Ariana, who later managed a brave smile for cameras, could still be seen taking deep breaths as Cynthia held her hand and guided her down the carpet.
The terrifying moment has renewed concern for Ariana’s safety, especially given her history with trauma. She has previously spoken about struggling with severe PTSD after the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, which killed 22 people. She once admitted she still doesn’t know “how to talk about it without crying,” and her former manager Scooter Braun revealed she “cried for days” after learning fans had died at her concert.
Cynthia and Ariana have been travelling the world promoting the Wicked sequel and were seen in high spirits earlier this week at the London premiere. Their close bond was on full display in Singapore — both before and after the shocking ambush.
The Singapore premiere marks the film’s only Asian stop before the tour wraps in New York on November 17.
