By Dannielle Maguire, ABC
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the 'Wicked: For Good' European premiere Photo: Samir Hussein
Actress Cynthia Erivo has been praised for coming to the aid of Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, after a spectator ran at her at the film's premiere in Singapore.
Grande and Erivo were walking with 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.
this is the worst thing to happen i can’t believe i saw ariana get harrassed in front of my own eyes… and she was about to reach me too pic.twitter.com/AEeph52us1
— dhya IS SEEING ARI (@lanagrandes) November 13, 2025
Another angle of the incident shared on TikTok by 'usersofiarose' showed security staff forcing the ambusher over a barrier within seconds.
As this is unfolding, the pair are seen continuing on with linked arms, with Erivo visibly shaken.
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 taking the 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. Photo: TikTok: usersofiarose
He posted a video of the incident on his account, with fans of Erivo and Grande calling for him to be arrested.
"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_) Photo: TikTok: dinie_syahmi_
He later 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 its questions about the backlash to his actions.
His profile links to a crowdfunding page to help "to pay off all my bills", but it has yet to receive a single donation.
The crowdfunding page lists his location as the inner-Sydney suburb of Haymarket.
- ABC
