Celebrities are, more or less, used to the life of constantly being chased around by paparazzi and reporters. That in itself can be its own level of stress, but fans invading the personal space of their celebrities is nothing more than harassment. However, Ariana Grande got much more than just your average fan harassment when a man grabbed her at the Wicked: For Good premiere in Singapore. It took mere moments for the culprit to leap over the barricade and grapple Grande by the neck and shoulder. Fans are rightfully outraged, but this same delinquent also did the same to The Weeknd.
Back in October of 2024, The Weeknd held a concert in Australia, where the same individual climbed onto the catwalk and grabbed the singer before security dragged him away. Online users have also pointed out that he’s the culprit who also stormed the stage for a Katy Perry concert in Sydney back in June and harassed her while she was singing. Fortunately, he’s proven to be harmless regarding his unacceptable behavior; it’s mostly a prank just to seek attention. Still, many find the fact that this random man following celebrities around is able to reach them long before security gets a hold of him.
“This is so dangerous and unacceptable. I can’t believe her co-stars and fans were more help than the security there,” remarked a Reddit user, referring to the incident with Grande. While this delinquent is just an immature individual looking to gain some clout, there’s no telling what could happen if someone with a weapon and malicious intent were in his place. And the fact that security often does not respond fast enough at all in these situations also worries many online users.
Many call for him to be banned from concerts, but that would be rather difficult, given that the man has allegedly exhibited this behavior at events in multiple countries, including sports. “He’ll do it anywhere celebrities are accessible and attention can be gained,” says one commenter. “Why isn’t he in jail yet?” questions another. However, that opens another can of worms, as Reddit users point out that there are plenty of actual offenders and criminals who are exponentially more dangerous than this prankster.
In the end, the internet is left in shock that this sort of thing could have happened to Grande, at a movie premiere no less. Security for these sorts of events definitely needs to step up their game, not to mention this troublesome individual seemed much more aggressively physical this time than he was with other celebrities in the past.
