Cynthia Erivo praised for protecting co-star Ariana Grande from invader at Wicked event
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the London premiere of Wicked For Good. (AP: Invision/Millie Turner)
In short:
A man jumped a crowd control barrier and ran at Ariana Grande during the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good.
Grande's co-star Cynthia Erivo rushed to protect her, removing her from the man's grasp.
What's next?
Local media has reported the man has been charged with being a public nuisance and if he is found guilty he could be fined up to $2,360.
Cynthia Erivo has been praised for coming to the aid of her Wicked co-star Ariana Grande after a spectator ran at her at the Wicked: For Good premiere in Singapore.
Grande and Erivo were walking with their fellow co-stars at Universal Studios Singapore, the walkway flanked on either side by fans cheering behind barricades.
Video shared on social media shows a man jumping over a crowd-control barrier, running towards Grande and putting his arms around the singer.
Erivo rushes at the intruder, separating Grande from his grip and pushing him away.
Footage of the incident has been shared widely on social media, with a post shared by a user called lanagrandes viewed more than 2.2 million times in 10 hours.
Another angle of the incident shared on TikTok by usersofiarose showed security staff forcing the man over a barrier within seconds.
As this is unfolding, the pair continues on the yellow carpet, arms linked, with Erivo visibly shaken.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande walk off as security staff deal with the intruder. (TikTok: usersofiarose)
Fans took to the comments section to praise Erivo for her actions.
"Cynthia is protecting her omg," one user said.
"Cynthia's muscles came into play. No hesitation whatsoever. Yes girl," another said.
Video posted to TikTok by dinie_syahmi_ showed the man being led away by security staff after the stars had moved on, with other fans jeering and doing thumbs down gestures.
'Serial intruder' identified
Fans identified the intruder as a man who goes by the username Pyjama Man on Instagram.
His profile also includes what's believed to be his real name, Johnson Wen, along with labels "2023 WorId Cup FinaI Pitch lnvader" and "Troll Most Hated".
Along with video from the Wicked premiere, his account also shows videos of him invading other events, including getting up on stage at concerts by Katy Perry, The Weeknd and The Chainsmokers.
Cynthia Erivo protects Ariana Grande from a person who ambushed her at the premiere. (TikTok: usersofiarose)
He posted a video of the incident on his account, with fans of Erivo and Grande calling for him to be arrested.
Some referenced the trauma Grande experienced when a bomber detonated explosives at one of her concerts in Manchester, England, in 2017.
"There needs to be an action done against him as this is clearly a criminal offence," one user wrote, tagging the Singapore police in the comments section.
"After all the trauma Ari has been through, this is beyond disrespectful. Not just to her, but to the cast and to all the fans. It's literally infuriating. You should be ashamed," another wrote.
Pyjama Man's Instagram profile includes video of similar incidents at concerts. (TikTok: dinie_syahmi_)
He posted a story saying, "I'm free after being arrested."
In a message to US broadcaster NBC, he described himself as a "mega fan" of Grande.
But the broadcaster said he did not respond to their questions about the backlash to his actions.
His profile links to a crowdfunding page to help "to pay off all my bills", which has yet to receive a single donation.
The crowdfunding page lists his location as the inner-Sydney suburb of Haymarket.
Local media later reported that a man had been charged with being a public nuisance by a Singapore court.