Ariana Grande

For officials in Singapore, one Australian man’s actions at the “Wicked: For Good” premiere earlier this month wrought enough chaos to keep him out of the country — for good.

Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority has deported and barred 26-year-old Johnson Wen from reentering the country after he crashed the yellow carpet and accosted star Ariana Grande, according to several reports. A representative for the authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Singapore’s the Straits Times reported that Australian national Wen arrived in the country earlier this month on a 90-day social-visit pass to attend the movie musical’s premiere and for a vacation. The self-proclaimed “Troll Most Hated” was seen in video jumping over the fan barricade onto the other side of the carpet. He ran toward Grammy winner Grande with his arms and legs flailing before grabbing her roughly around the neck and shoulders. He turned and smiled for the cameras before Grande’s co-star Cynthia Erivo interfered and separated Wen from Grande. He was arrested, charged and later released.

Wen, who has a history of crashing other celebrity events including concerts down under by Katy Perry and the Weeknd, was charged with being a public nuisance days after the incident. Shortly after that, he was convicted and sentenced to nine days in jail.

During his trial in Singapore, Wen said he was “going to stop,” according to the Straits Times. His courtroom statement, however, doesn’t seem to match up with his tone on social media.

Wen re-shared video of the incident Sunday on Instagram. “Dear Ariana Grande thanks for letting me join the Red Carpet 💛,” he captioned the video.

“Wicked: For Good” premiered Friday, a year after after the first “Wicked” film. The sequel also stars Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode and Jonathan Bailey. Jon M. Chu directs both films.

Times assistant editor Christie D’Zurilla contributed to this report.

Want to hear Ariana Grande, actor, playing Ariana Grande, pop star? Make sure you have a ticket for her Eternal Sunshine Tour next summer, because after that she’s not planning to do another one any time soon.

In fact, she’s calling the tour her “one last hurrah.”

“I’m very excited to do this small tour, but I think it might not happen again for a long, long, long, long time,” she said Tuesday on the “Good Hang With Amy Poehler” podcast. “So I’m going to give it my all and it’s going to be beautiful and I think that’s why I’m doing it, because it’s like, one last hurrah.”

One. Last. Hurrah.

Grande is a mere 32 years old. That said, her last tour had 97 shows on two continents in less than a year. We would be tired of it too.

The 2026 tour, which runs from June 6 to Sept. 1, hits only 10 cities with multiple dates in each. Tickets went on sale a couple of months back, but there’s always the resale market.

Also, Ariana Grande the actor is very busy at the moment, with more going on than simply “Wicked: For Good” promotion. That obligation, though, has taken her all over the world for multiple premieres, including one in Singapore last week where she was accosted on the yellow carpet by a self-proclaimed troll looking to glom onto her fame and make it his own. (He is currently in jail.)

She has also been busy filming “Focker In-Law,” the fourth installment in the somewhat unlikely “Meet the Fockers” franchise.

“It’s just so great to sort of experience a new, new journey and learn from those around me,” one that includes Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro and Beanie Feldstein, she told Poehler.

The host said it sounded like this movie was “much less physically exhausting” than her work in “Wicked,” but Grande begged to disagree.

“I’m not sure I’m supposed to say this, but I have to say it ’cause you’re going to laugh your ass off. My character’s a triathlete,” she explained.

“Oh nooooo!” Poehler said. “So you’re always running?”

“I spent yesterday doing burpees and high knees with Robert De Niro, and he’s like, ‘Good job, Olivia. Good job,’” said the “Thank U, Next” singer, whose character is named Olivia Jones. “It’s like the craziest, most — I’m like, what is this movie? What are we doing? But I’m having a blast.”

There’s no corset, like Glinda wore, in “Focker In-Law.” No posture-altering shoes, according to Grande. But Stiller and De Niro are both big runners in their free time, which apparently starts in the neighborhood of 4:40 a.m. As for Ariana?

“There’s a lot of biking in this movie. Like a lot lot lot lot.”

No rest, apparently, for the wicked.

CYNTHIA Erivo ended up in floods of tears after paying a visit to her old school in South London to watch students perform one of the hit songs from Wicked.

Cynthia, 38, took time out of her busy schedule pre Wicked: For Good hitting cinemas to surprise the lucky students of La Retraite Roman Catholic Girl’s School in Clapham Park, who had no idea she would be paying them a visit.

The star made her dazzling entrance in the best possible way: by quietly sneaking into the room as students one by one noticed she was standing there.

The students looked on in utter disbelief, tinged with obvious excitement, before squealing and jumping for joy.

During the surprise gesture, organised by Greg James and his team at Radio 1, Cynthia sat front row in the audience of an auditorium while a starstruck group of teenage girls sang Wicked’s song For Good.

It was a very emotional moment for Cynthia, who couldn’t help but break down in tears.

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Speaking about the touching performance once the song had wrapped up, Cynthia described how it was “very overwhelming” for her to be back at the school where she herself performed in a number of stage productions.

“I went to this school and left over 20 years ago so to come back and listen to you singing that song is really wonderful.

“Well done everyone, it’s so nice to see you all and be back here.”

As her voice was breaking, Cynthia told the equally emotional students: “I’m just really glad to have heard that. I’m not OK at all!”

The star then took questions from the teenagers, where one fan asked when she knew she wanted to perform for a living.

Cynthia replied: “I knew when I was five-years-old, there was something I just knew about singing, what it felt like to sing, what it felt like to connect and what it felt like to perform which I’ve always loved. That never changed.

“When I was five I was asked to sing Silent Night at the nativity play, I don’t know why they asked me to sing, I was playing a shepherd.

“But something about the way people reacted sparked a bit of joy. And I loved the fact that something I did made people happy.”

After taking more questions Cynthia, who didn’t have a father figure during adulthood, imparted words of encouragement to the group, encouraging them to never diminish the power of dreaming alongside putting in the work.

“I was right where you were, literally.

“I had some really wonderful teachers who helped and guided.

“Don’t be afraid of dreaming of those things and don’t be afraid of the hard work.”

Cynthia is currently finishing off her leg of premieres for Wicked’s eagerly anticipated sequel Wicked: For Good, set to come out in cinemas on Friday.

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Alongside co-lead and pop powerhouse Ariana Grande, she’s walked many red carpets, defended Ari on the Yellow Brick Road from a recent fan attack, and undertaken countless amounts of interviews.

Though the leading ladies have created many unintentional memes during their Wicked days, it’s been a whirlwind of fun, emotion, and amazing talent watching everything unfold.

IN her blue gingham dress, brown pigtails and trusty dog Toto by her side, Dorothy Gale is one of the most famous characters in Hollywood history.

But 86 years after original actress Judy Garland skipped down the yellow brick road, the school girl from Kansas is back on the big screen – being played by a Pilates instructor who lives in Surrey.

Bethany Weaver, 30, has been unveiled as the woman portraying Dorothy in the big budget movie Wicked: For Good, which hits cinemas this Friday.

However, The Sun can reveal she only appears on screen for 69 seconds and says a total of six words — and Bethany’s friends may not even recognise her, as her face is never shown on screen.

It follows on from last year’s first film, simply titled Wicked, and completes the tale of the witches of Oz, Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, 38, and Ariana Grande, 32, as Glinda.

But while the first musical extravaganza was a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, the second instalment’s plot runs parallel to that of the 1939 film, telling the tale from an entirely different perspective.

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That means viewers will once again see Dorothy with the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion.

Explaining the decision not to show her face, director Jon M. Chu, 46, said: “I didn’t want to step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with.

“[The sequel] is still Elphaba and Glinda’s journey, and she is a pawn in the middle of all of it.”

Cynthia added: “I think that’s such a wonderful thing to do because then everyone gets to keep the Dorothy that they know.”

The film studio went to major lengths to keep her identity a secret, stopping her from attending the major premieres.

The cast and crew were banned from following or interacting with her on social media and on Instagram, she only had 1,041 followers before being formally announced.

She has had a string of theatre jobs in Oklahoma and Broken Wings after training at The Urdang Academy, and recently helped to choreograph a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

But away from the stage, she has a less showbiz career as a Pilates instructor in Surrey.

Her casting ends a year of speculation, as fans had been convinced that Irish actress Alisha Weir, 16, who played the lead in 2022’s Matilda the Musical, would take the role.

She attended the London premiere of the first Wicked film last year wearing silver shoes, which was thought to be a reference to the original colour of the character’s ruby red heels in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

And even superstar Taylor Swift, 35, was at one point linked to the role.

Fans thought the video for her song Karma, which saw her skipping down a yellow brick road, was a clue, and an image of the singer dressed as Dorothy went viral before later being debunked as AI.

But with an all-star cast in Wicked: For Good, also featuring People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive Jonathan Bailey, 37, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, 63, and Jurassic Park’s Jeff Goldblum, 73, there is plenty of star power to propel it to success.

Wicked, released last November, became the highest-grossing film of the year at the UK box office, raking in £61million in a matter of weeks.

Now the blockbuster sequel is being forecast to repeat its success, with expectations it will surpass the £56million made by A Minecraft Movie and the £46million raked in by Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy earlier this year.

Bosses at Universal Pictures are also hoping the movie will prove fruitful in awards season too, after the first flick landed ten Oscar nominations but only won in the Best Costume Design and Best Production Design categories.

The film is based on the second half of the Broadway musical, although two new songs were penned especially for the big-screen version, which will be available when the official soundtrack is released on Friday.

Ariana has a solo moment with The Girl in the Bubble while Cynthia gets a song on her own with No Place Like Home.

The tracks mean they could go head-to-head for the Best Original Song gong at the Oscars.

The movies were filmed back to back from December 2022 to January 2024 at studios in Elstree and Leavesden, Herts, although Ariana and Cynthia returned to the UK in May this year for last-minute reshoots.

An estimated $150m was spent on the film with millions more on marketing it – with the massive investment paying off for the first flick.

That one set a box office record for a stage-to-screen adaptation, making $756m globally.

And they are going all-out to market this film too.

Today, it was revealed that Brick Lane in East London has been transformed into Yellow Brick Lane, with the famous path from the Wizard of Oz now running down the road, along with several Wicked murals.

There have also been a raft of big brand tie-ins, with a slew of Wicked-themed products including a collection of Le Creuset cookware, Crocs, rugs, trainers, perfume, and even drinks and bakes at high street chain Greggs.

Wicked Barbie dolls are also expected to be one of the most in-demand toys this Christmas.

And its legacy is likely to be even more musicals making it to the big screen.

Following the success of the first film, Sabrina Carpenter, 26, has had a musical about Alice in Wonderland greenlit by the same movie studio.

Mamma Mia 3 is also expected to go ahead, with talk of Nicole Scherzinger, 47 – who had been linked to the role of Elphaba back in 2017 – starring in a film adaptation of Sunset Boulevard.

As for Cynthia and Ariana, they have spent the last two weeks on a promotional tour including premieres in Sao Paulo, Paris, London, Singapore and on Monday evening, New York.

However, it has taken its toll.

Cynthia, who wore a black gown featuring leather and feathers on the red carpet in the Big Apple, was unable to do interviews there after losing her voice entirely in the lead-up to the film’s release.

Meanwhile, talk during the promo run has turned to Ariana, who wore a pink tulle skirt and a black corseted bodice, and her relationship with her co-star Ethan Slater, 33.

Romance blossomed during filming, just after her marriage to estate agent Dalton Gomez crumbled, and following his split from his childhood sweetheart and the mother of his son, psychologist Lilly Jay.

But despite steering clear from each other on red carpets and declining to talk about each other, the couple are quietly still going strong after two and a half years as an item.

And while she isn’t saying goodbye to him, she is moving away from the role of Glinda, which she had dreamed about playing since she was ten years old.

She has dyed her peroxide blonde hair back to brown and has moved onto her next project, recently completing work on the latest film in the Meet the Parents franchise.

Reflecting on the release of the second – and final – film, Ariana was emotional.

She explained: “It’s been such an incredible ride and an incredible experience to create with people we love so much and respect so much creatively, but also who just have such great hearts.”

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Speaking about the characters, who she and Cynthia auditioned for in 2021, she said: “It’s almost five years that we’ve spent with them. So, for them to finally be getting the full picture and to know the secrets we’ve known all along is very exciting.”

Ariana added: “This project will always be part of our lives.”

Sometimes a person needs to find a new hobby — one that doesn’t involve terrifying celebrities.

An Australian man who threw his arms around Ariana Grande after charging at her Thursday during arrivals at the Singapore premiere of “Wicked: For Good” has been charged with being a public nuisance, the BBC reported.

In various videos capturing the incident, as Grande greeted hundreds of fans lined up behind a barricade along a yellow carpet at the premiere, the man can be seen jumping a barricade on the other side of the carpet, running toward her with his arms and legs flailing, then grabbing her roughly around the neck and shoulders before turning and smiling happily for the cameras. Cynthia Erivo, who was walking with her co-star as well as Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh, immediately got between Grande and the man and appeared to shout at him.

Security then escorted the man away from the very shaken star, who plays Glinda in the “Wicked” movies. He was arrested, charged and later released, according to the BBC, which identified him as Johnson Wen, 26. If convicted, he could be fined more than $1,500 in U.S. dollars.

Wen, who goes by the name Pyjama Man on Instagram, considers himself a “stage invader” who has surprised major stars including Katy Perry and the Weeknd. He has been carted off by security at a Paris Olympics track and field event and more than once ran onto soccer pitches during high-profile matches. Wen seems to post media coverage of his bad behavior as a badge of honor on his Instagram account, where he refers to himself as a “Troll Most Hated.”

One video of the event, incidentally, can be seen on Wen’s Instagram grid, where he had the nerve to write as his caption, “Dear Ariana Grande Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You.”

“you literally assaulted her and you’re posting it? bro you deserve to be in jail there is something severely wrong with you,” one commenter wrote below the video.

Another went into it in more detail, writing, “Congratulations. You managed to turn what should’ve been a magical premiere into a global showcase of your complete inability to behave like a functioning adult. … Rushing a woman — any woman, let alone someone who has survived unimaginable trauma — is not ‘a prank’. It’s not ‘a stunt’. It’s not ‘funny’. It’s pathetic, dangerous, and shows a total lack of respect for boundaries, safety, and basic human decency.”

After giving Erivo props for her quick response, the second commenter closed by saying, “You didn’t get attention. You got exposed — as reckless, inconsiderate, and utterly unaware of the impact of your actions on a woman who has already lived through real horror.

“If your goal was to be remembered, congratulations again: You’re remembered for all the wrong reasons. And trust me — no one is impressed.”

A third person addressed their comment to Instagram, writing, “why is this person allowed to continually post videos of himself assaulting/harassing people? It’s distressing and disgusting and unlawful. @instagram Please make him go away.”

Grande has not commented publicly on the incident.

The New York City premiere of “Wicked: For Good” is scheduled for Monday. The second half of the two-part big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical “Wicked” opens wide in U.S. theaters Nov. 21.

Alfredo Flores is always moving, but you wouldn’t know it from the precise stills he takes of Sabrina Carpenter emerging onstage, her cheekiness and sparkly go-go boots shining through his images.

The portfolio of 36-year-old Flores, Carpenter’s tour photographer, is already familiar to most. Those photos of Carpenter posed with the tour stop’s city labeled on a mug and sealed with a kiss — that’s Flores’ work.

He has captured Carpenter’s rise from her “Emails I Can’t Send” era to the dazzlingly successful Short n’ Sweet tour, the work from which earned Flores the iHeart Radio Award for favorite tour photographer and puts him back on the road next week for an additional North American leg, including her six-night run at Crypto.com Arena next week.

But Carpenter’s towel reveals, set changes and winks won’t look exactly the same.

“Creatively, I just try my best to figure out different ways to shoot the same show,” said Flores, fresh off VMAs adrenaline and the release buzz of Carpenter’s latest album, “Man’s Best Friend.”

He constantly alters angles and lenses, including long, short and fish-eye, all with his Canon — the camera brand he’s been loyal to his entire career. However, that doesn’t make his first forays into photography any less impactful.

Alfredo Flores smiling with Sabrina Carpenter.

(Courtesy of Alfredo Flores)

Flores’ trajectory as a live music photographer is informed by the era he grew up in, one of disposable cameras, 24-hour photo labs, VHS camcorders, photo books full of family vacation pictures and the visionaries behind the hits that made us press the replay button on CD players.

He recalls his path was charted before him one afternoon in his native Belleview, N.J., on a sick day home from school in the form of the VH1 show “Pop-Up Video,” which featured music videos accompanied by trivia-filled text bubbles.

“It was Mariah Carey’s music video for ‘Honey,’ and it said, ‘This video is directed by Paul Hunter. The location is Puerto Rico. This is an extra. This is a body double,’ ” said Flores, who added, “And it clicked in my brain, ‘Oh, this is something that people create’ … and that’s where my interest really peaked in a more professional way.”

In 2008, when the ultimate music video platform was no longer VH1, but YouTube, Flores moved to Los Angeles and sought out the minds who inspired him — the directors and producers who shaped his camcorder and disposable days, before he ever strapped a Canon around his neck.

“I went to the [Geffen Records] offices every day until I got a yes,” said Flores.

He spent his initial internship days showcasing his perceptive eye by compiling magazine photos for music video storyboards. It was this eye that quickly put Flores on set, shooting bonus footage for a 2009 Nickelodeon production, “School Gyrls.” The made-for-TV movie featured a certain Canadian teen who benefited from the YouTube boom.

The Justin Bieber cameo would develop into a working relationship, allowing Flores to pursue the art form that prompted his move to Los Angeles: directing music videos.

Flores’s music video for Bieber’s song “Love Me” encapsulates the early stages of Bieber’s career. Flores intercut Bieber singing to the camera with footage of fans, behind-the-scenes chats with Usher and numerous angles of Bieber’s signature look — the swoop that inspired hair flips round the world.

Years later, in 2020, when the world stopped, Flores didn’t. He co-directed Bieber once again for the “Stuck with U” music video, a montage of loved ones dancing and embracing in their homes. It was 4 minutes and 17 seconds of celebrated togetherness in the midst of government-enforced close proximity. The song is a duet between Bieber and Ariana Grande, an artist whom Flores defines as a “once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent.”

Flores spent much of the 2010s working with Grande, all angles taken into consideration. From her upside-down album cover for “Thank U, Next” to co-directing her more festive side for the “Santa Tell Me” video to incorporating nostalgia into a Grande-Victoria Monét collaboration, “Monopoly.” Co-directing the friendship anthem’s music video, Flores nodded to a ‘90s upbringing by using a decent amount of camcorder footage.

“Joan [Grande’s mom] probably has so many VHS videos of Ari growing up. And Beth [Carpenter’s mom] has so many VHS recordings of Sabrina,” he said.

The artistic journeys of Carpenter, Grande and Flores are intertwined with the sought-after music video director Dave Meyers. The Grammy winner has bestowed the world with distinct visuals, such as Kendrick Lamar re-creating “The Last Supper” while rapping “HUMBLE.,” Britney Spears accepting an acting award in the midst of belting out “Lucky,” and Grande as an ethereal being singing “God Is a Woman.”

Meyers directed two music videos for Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” album with Flores as the behind-the-scenes photographer. Both videos helped facilitate Carpenter’s catapult into the cultural lexicon with the summer-infused shots in “Espresso” and the “Death Becomes Her” story line in “Taste.”

Alfredo Flores in the photo pit for Sabrina Carpenter.

(Courtesy of Alfredo Flores)

“BTS for me in the hands of Alfredo feels like a living yearbook of the experience we all had. I’m so deep in the creative process that I’m not self-aware of what’s happening, and to re-watch through his work allows me to enjoy the stories being told all around us. The capturing of the actual process, the passion we all share to create — those are the stories he captures over and over,” said Meyers.

Often, Flores takes those candid moments even further with a Polaroid camera — he points, shoots and hopes for the best. The instant photo is at the mercy of light and luck, which are part of the magic, he said.

“It’s the color, the grain, the imperfection of it all,” he said.

By definition, pop music is inextricably tied to its time period, the subject matter and sound speaking to its modern, often younger audiences. This can denote a fleeting quality, a trend to pass us by, not unlike the evolution of photography and videography.

However, the artists of today suggest otherwise. Carpenter covered Abba’s hit “Mamma Mia.” Grande sampled ‘N Sync in her “Thank U, Next” album. Both MTV and VH1 still have something to teach the music video directors of today. There’s lasting power in pop songs as are the mediums we associate with them. Who are we creatively if not an amalgamation of all we’ve seen, the people we know, the ways in which we originally consumed them?

“When I work with an artist we have longevity,” said Flores.

Not a surprising sentiment from the man taking a backstage Polaroid picture of a Gen Z pop star who praises disco.