Aussie Man Charged at Ariana Grande Vows to ‘Keep Doing It’

Don’t expect serial celebrity ambusher Johnson Wen to change his ways any time soon.

The notorious pest, dubbed ‘Pyjama Man’, stunned onlookers by ambushing Ariana Grande on Thursday as she hit the red carpet at the Singapore premiere of her latest film Wicked: For Good.

Wen certainly has a history of such antics and, in a resurfaced interview with Fifi, Fev and Nick, he admitted he had no intention of curbing his disruptive behaviour. 

The Fox 101.9 trio spoke to Wen in 2024 after he stormed the stage during Canadian rapper The Weeknd’s Melbourne show. 

In what was to prove a prophetic statement, Wen revealed that despite public opinion, he would continue to disrupt high profile events.

‘I’ve had a few people come up to me and were like: “You should stop doing that. What about your fines and your career in the future?”‘ he explained.

‘I was like: “No way!” I’m literally the best pitch invader/streaker. I’ll probably keep doing it but I might take a break.’ 

Host Fifi Box kicked off the chat by asking Wen, quite rightly, what he was thinking, to which he replied that he simply wanted to meet the star. 

‘The Weeknd is like the biggest artist on Spotify. When I got an early entry ticket, that was my plan,’ he said.

‘I went to the concert because I wanted to go on stage to meet him. When everyone was lining up excited… in my head, I was daydreaming about going on that stage.’

Brendan Fevola then asked Wen if he felt any remorse over his actions and his response was a resounding ‘no’.

‘Do you think that is the right thing to do? To wreck the concert for everyone else, put him [The Weeknd] in harm’s way, just because you want to meet him?’ the radio star asked.

While admitting he knew what he did was wrong, Wen added that he simply did not care.

‘I know it’s bad, but I didn’t care about the consequences. I was going to do it either way, even though it was really bad to do it.’

Box then asked whether Wen felt compelled to stage his celebrity ambushes and if he was chasing fame or notoriety. 

‘Kind of, but I can control it – I can stop whenever I want,’ he added.

‘I did this all sober. Even if I had bad sleep, on the day I have to run on the stadium, I literally feel like I’m flying toward the sky.’

He also revealed his stunts have landed him fines of up to $10,000, which his family often helps him pay. 

‘I used to do solar panels on the roof and tradie work, but my sister paid some of my fines as well.’

Wen even spoke to 7News about his Weeknd invasion, revealing that he was ‘happy’ with the outcome.

‘[There] was way too many security guards, it looked like it was impossible to get through,’ he said.

‘Somehow I just managed to find a small gap in my section and as soon as I was ready to run on the stage, I ran through that small gap and then I jumped up.’

He added: ‘I was extremely happy and as soon as I got to The Weeknd I knew that my plan worked.’

Wen has also made headlines for ambushing the stages of The Chainsmokers and Katy Perry during their Australian tours. 

He doesn’t stop at music concerts or actors – he’s also been known to streak across stadiums during major sporting events such as the 100m Olympic Final in Paris and the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

This latest stunt came on Thursday – and his target was Ariana Grande. 

A widely shared video of the incident showed Wen lunging at Grande and throwing his arm around her as she struggled to break free at Universal Studios. 

Before security could intervene, Cynthia, who plays Elphaba in the film, stepped between her friend and Wen, appearing to shout at him as she tried to block his path. 

Moments later, a team of security guards dragged Wen away, leaving a visibly shaken Ariana to be comforted by Cynthia.