An Australian man, Johnson Wen, who was imprisoned and deported from Singapore for charging at pop star Ariana Grande, was recently ejected from a Lady Gaga concert in his own country, Brisbane. Wen shared on Instagram that he was "kicked out" of the Suncorp Stadium on Tuesday night before Lady Gaga's performance even started.
The 26-year-old, who has a history of disrupting concerts and celebrity events, was sentenced to nine days in jail by a Singapore court last month for grabbing Grande during the Asian premiere of Wicked: For Good. Despite promising the Singaporean judge in mitigation that he would "not do it again," Wen's history of public nuisance made him a persona non grata at the Brisbane event.
Videos on social media captured security guards escorting Wen out of the venue, with the crowd cheering and booing as he was led away. The BBC has reached out to Suncorp Stadium for a comment, but in a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald, the venue explained that it was made aware that "a known serial offender may attempt to attend and disrupt" the Lady Gaga concert. "In the interest of the artist's safety, this individual was deemed a person of interest and not to be allowed to attend," it said.
Wen's notoriety dates back to his incident with Grande at the Wicked: For Good premiere in Singapore, a city-state known for its strict laws on public behavior. The Singaporean judge, Christopher Goh, reportedly told Wen, "You seem to be attention-seeking, thinking only of yourself and not the safety of others when committing these acts." As a result, Wen was also banned from Singapore following the incident.
Other videos on Wen's social media accounts show him jumping on stage and disrupting performances by global stars like Katy Perry and The Weeknd. The incident with Grande sparked outrage in Singapore, with fans accusing Wen of "re-traumatising" the pop star and actress who has spoken of experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder after a suicide bomb attack at her May 2017 concert in Manchester that killed 22 people and injured hundreds.
