We’ve all had a little crush on a celebrity that made it to a poster on our bedroom walls, we vowed to marry at 13, or has made us spend a little too much time watching thirst trap edits of them (we’re looking at you, Jonathan Bailey). But what happens when fans take it that extra step too far?
What happened to Ariana Grande?
Ariana Grande stepped out on November 13, 2025, for the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good. Among the thousands of starry-eyed fans hoping for a glimpse of the pop star, one person chose to go much further.
An Australian man climbed over the barricade and rushed toward Ariana before security (as well as bad-ass costar Cynthia Erivo) intervened, creating a moment that quickly went viral.
The man, who has now been identified as Johnson Wen, is a serial prankster, and this isn’t his first rodeo.
Who is Johnson Wen?
Wen also famously stormed the stage at The Weeknd’s Melbourne concert at Marvel Stadium in October 2024. Back then, he was seen jumping onto the stage and rushing over to the singer, before wrapping his arms around him and smiling at the crowd.
After rushing Ariana, he posted the video of himself getting tackled by security on Instagram with the caption, “Dear Ariana Grande Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You.”
Another one of his posts was captioned, “I feel like I’m in a dream. That’s my best friend Ariana Grande and I’m gonna meet her,” he said as he pointed to a movie poster of Ari in character as Glinda. “Yes I’ve been dreaming about that.”
He has since been sentenced to nine days in jail, convicted of being a public nuisance. At his trial on November 17, 2025, the court heard that he had attempted to intrude on the movie premiere in Singapore twice.
“Johnson Wen was deported to Australia on Nov 23, 2025 and has been barred from re-entering Singapore,” the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said on Sunday (Nov 23).
It’s not a new thing. Just this past year alone there’s been multiple headlines of crazed fans crossing the line – from throwing things on stage at the heads of performers, or invading their personal space and trying to get into their moving cars.
We get it. Celebrities are seen as almost God-like beings as they grace our screens and slink through red carpets with almost impossible grace and ease. But at the end of the day, they’re also humans, so can we just leave them alone?
What do the experts say about it?
Psychologist Jaimie Bloch (@mindmoverspsych) tells WHO that fans often feel overly familiar with celebrities because they believe they’re “knowing them on a deeper level”.
“When we repeatedly see someone’s face on our screens, hearing their voice, watching their daily life, our nervous system starts treating them like a familiar person.”
She adds that social media fuels this sense of “entitlement” since stars feel more accessible.
“Because fans feel closer, some feel entitled to more access, forgetting there are still boundaries, still consent, still a person on the other side of the screen,” she says.
“Social media doesn’t create a real relationship; it creates the illusion of one. And for a small group of fans, that illusion becomes easy to overstep.”
Bloch also notes that usually people that have “trouble with impulse control”, “obsessive or rigid thinking”, “high loneliness”, or “mental health difficulties” like psychosis or mania, tend to be more likely to cross boundaries.
Celebrities who have had incidents with fans
Read on for some examples of fans who took it way too far…
Billie Eilish
On October 9, 2025, Billie Eilish was dragged by a fan into the crowd while at her concert in Miami.
The videos, which quickly went viral, showed a fan yanking her by her arm, before she makes a smooth recovery and keeps on walking.
The Miami Police Department said the person “was ejected from the Kaseya Center” after the incident, but there are yet to be any criminal charges placed.
Billie has previously spoken out about fans crossing lines at concerts. In 2023, she told The Hollywood Reporter she had “been getting hit on stage with things for like, literally, six years,” noting that excitement can quickly become dangerous.
She noted that artists stand in a vulnerable position even when objects are thrown with good intentions. The issue resurfaced in December 2024 when a fan’s blue bracelet struck her during a performance of “What Was I Made For?” in Arizona.
Keanu Reeves
On October 19, 2025, Keanu Reeves had an encounter with a crazed fan after leaving his Broadway show, Waiting for Godot.
After smiling and waving at fans in the crowd, he made his way into the back of a car, before a woman rushed past security and tried to grab the car’s door handle.
Two security guards grabbed the woman as she screamed for Keanu, but she slipped free and ran to the SUV as it pulled away. She yanked at the locked door, shouting, “Don’t let them hurt me!” before security pulled her back and pushed her away from the vehicle.
Halsey
Fans were outraged on November 4, 2025, when a clip circulated of singer Halsey being touched inappropriately on stage at her Athens show.
While singing ‘Is There Somewhere’, she moved closer to the crowd, when one concert-goer snuck their hand up her leather skirt while filming.
Fans were quick to condemn the behaviour, with one X user writing, “Respect Halsey and DO NOT touch her or anyone like this without their consent.”
Luke Bryan
The country music star had a bad experience of his own during his concert on July 26, 2025.
While performing ‘Country Girl’, the song was interrupted when a fan threw a small object on the stage, hitting his face.
While he quickly recovered and continued on singing, fans were quick to call out the incident.
“Whoever that was ruined the whole concert because he stopped so early,” one fan posted to social media.
Bebe Rexha
In July 2023, Bebe Rexha was rushed off stage during one of her concerts in New York after a fan threw a phone her way.
The phone collided with her face, which caused her to collapse to her knees and be rushed off stage by her crew.
Videos went viral of the incident,where security could be seen dragging the man out of the event while fans yelled, “that’s assault!”
She later posted pictures of her with stitches and bruising to Instagram with the caption, “I’m good”.
The Weeknd
In October 2024, Canadian singer The Weeknd was tackled while on stage in Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
Videos went viral online showing the serial public prankster, Jonathan Wen, jumping over the barricade past security and running on stage to hug the performer.
The self-described “prankster” and “CEO of trolling” posted the footage on Instagram, captioning it, “It was cool chatting with you while on the stage.”
