Cynthia Erivo rushed to the rescue of her “Wicked: For Good” co-star after Ariana Grande was charged by a fan at the film’s Singapore premiere.
Grande was walking the yellow brick carpet on Thursday night alongside her fellow “Wicked” actors Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum and director Jon M. Chu, when a man wearing a white shirt jumped the barricade and rushed toward her. He put his arm around Grande and jumped up and down before Erivo intervened to shove the away the red carpet crasher, according to videos that captured the incident. As security pulled the man away, Erivo and Yeoh were seen comforting Grande while fans shouted to ask the pop star, “Are you OK?”
The man has been identified as Johnson Wen, whose Instagram handle is “Pyjama Man.” He posted his own video of the stunt on social media with the caption, “Dear Ariana Grande Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You.” A self-described “troll,” Wen is known for trying to disrupt concerts and events, including a Katy Perry concert in June, the Weeknd’s show in August and the Paris Olympics in summer 2024.
Before Universal’s “Wicked: For Good” lands in theaters on Nov. 21, the stars have been trotting around the globe for fan-centric events in cities like São Paulo, Paris and London before the North American premiere in New York City. Grade made headlines after she was forced to cancel her trip to Brazil because an aircraft safety issue grounded her flight.
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“I am so heartbroken that I’m unable to be there with you all. We sincerely tried everything we could and I apologize from the bottom of my heart,” Grande wrote on Instagram to her Brazil fans before urging them to “shower my incredible castmates with all of the love that I wish I could be showering you with and have the most beautiful celebration.”
From Variety US