A fan encounter took a wild turn at the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good, when Ariana Grande was ambushed on the yellow carpet by a barricade-jumping prankster. Cynthia Erivo, Grande’s co-star in the highly anticipated musical film, sprang into action, shielding the pop icon from an overzealous intruder.
The disruption came courtesy of Johnson Wen, better known on social media as “Pyjama Man.” Wearing a white shirt and seemingly no sense of boundaries, Wen wrapped his arm around Grande and bounced beside her in front of stunned onlookers. In a flash, Erivo shoved him away before security could whisk him off the carpet. The immediate aftermath saw both Erivo and Michelle Yeoh rushing to comfort a shaken Grande as fans shouted from the sidelines to check on her well-being.
Wen, who styles himself as a professional troll, has previously disrupted high-profile events including concerts by Katy Perry and the Weeknd, as well as sporting events like the Paris Olympics. Following his red carpet stunt, he posted a video of the moment to Instagram, thanking Grande in a post that blurred the line between apology and self-promotion.
Despite the interruption, the Wicked promotional train continues chugging across the globe. The cast and director Jon M. Chu have been engaging with fans from São Paulo to Paris. Notably absent from Brazil, however, was Grande herself, whose flight was grounded due to a mechanical issue. The singer expressed heartbreak over missing the event and urged fans to support her fellow cast members in her absence.
Universal’s Wicked: For Good opens in theaters November 21, promising a magical return to Oz, albeit with a few real-world plot twists along the way.