Singapore Deports Australian Man over Ariana Grande Incident

Ariana Grande attends the "Wicked: For Good!" New York Premiere at David Geffen Hall on November 17, 2025 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP)
Ariana Grande attends the "Wicked: For Good!" New York Premiere at David Geffen Hall on November 17, 2025 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP)
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Singapore Deports Australian Man over Ariana Grande Incident

Ariana Grande attends the "Wicked: For Good!" New York Premiere at David Geffen Hall on November 17, 2025 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP)
Ariana Grande attends the "Wicked: For Good!" New York Premiere at David Geffen Hall on November 17, 2025 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP)

Singapore deported on Sunday an Australian man at the end of a nine-day jail term for rushing film star Ariana Grande during the Asian premier of "Wicked: For Good", local media reported.

The man, Johnson Wen, was sent back to Australia "and has been barred from re-entering Singapore", the city-state's immigration authority said in a statement quoted by broadcaster CNA.

On the opening night of the much-hyped "Wicked" sequel on November 13, Wen jumped a barricade and put his arm around Grande.

He was arrested hours later and subsequently charged with "being a public nuisance". Last week, a court sentenced Wen to nine days in jail.

Video clips, which have gone viral online, show Wen wrapping his arm around the shocked star before jumping up and down and smilingly waving to the crowd.

Grande's co-star Cynthia Erivo then rushes to her defense and the man is grabbed by security guards and dumped back over the barricade.

Singapore District Judge Christopher Goh, who issued the jail sentence, called the Australian "attention seeking".

Wen, who is alleged to have disrupted other global sports events and concerts, "showed a pattern of behavior" which suggested that he would do it again, the judge had said before last week's ruling.

The jail term was far below the maximum penalty afforded by law: three months in jail, a fine of $1,500, or both.

Wen has told the court he was "wrong" to think his actions would bear no consequences and promised not to repeat the act.

The incident did not stop the premiere from going ahead, with the cast huddling around Grande before continuing down the yellow carpet.

Grande, 32, began her career as a teen on Broadway before embarking on a hugely successful pop career.



Chalamet Boosts Oscar Bid with Critics Choice Awards Win

Timothee Chalamet, with the spotlight actor of the year award for "Marty Supreme," poses in the press room during the 37th Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 at Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Timothee Chalamet, with the spotlight actor of the year award for "Marty Supreme," poses in the press room during the 37th Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 at Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
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Chalamet Boosts Oscar Bid with Critics Choice Awards Win

Timothee Chalamet, with the spotlight actor of the year award for "Marty Supreme," poses in the press room during the 37th Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 at Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Timothee Chalamet, with the spotlight actor of the year award for "Marty Supreme," poses in the press room during the 37th Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 at Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Timothee Chalamet's Oscars campaign earned a major boost Sunday as he scooped the best actor prize for "Marty Supreme" at the Critics Choice Awards, the first major gala of this year's Hollywood awards season.

He defeated rival Leonardo DiCaprio, whose raucous political thriller "One Battle After Another" took the night's top prize for best picture, as well as best director and best adapted screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson.

In "Marty Supreme," Chalamet plays a 1950s table tennis champion consumed by grand ambitions.

Loosely based on a true story, and benefiting from the Franco-American actor's unique viral campaign, the film directed by Josh Safdie ("Uncut Gems") has become an unlikely global hit.

"Josh, you made a story about a flawed man with a relatable dream," said Chalamet. "And you didn't preach to the audience about what's right and wrong, and I think we should all be telling stories like that, so thank you for this dream."

The movie is loosely based on the life of table tennis star Marty Reisman, a man driven by the belief that he can achieve fame and fortune through a sport little known in the United States.

Chalamet -- the "Dune" superstar and two-time Oscar nominee who recently portrayed Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown" -- rigorously trained in table tennis for the role.

The 30-year-old has in the past made no secret of his ambitions to win multiple Academy Awards, and will now be the frontrunner for the ceremony on March 15.

- Oscars momentum -

The awards bestowed by North America's largest critics' group could give movie campaigns much-needed extra momentum as Oscars voting nears.

This year, it took the coveted first weekend of awards season usually occupied by the Golden Globes, which will take place in Beverly Hills next weekend.

Jessie Buckley won best actress for her tragic role as the wife of William Shakespeare in period drama "Hamnet."

Jacob Elordi won best supporting actor for his portrayal of the Monster in "Frankenstein," which also won three technical awards, while Amy Madigan won supporting actress for a villainous turn in horror flick "Weapons."

Netflix's global mega-hit musical "KPop Demon Hunters" won best animated feature and best song.

"Sinners," a period horror film also seen as a major contender for many of this season's top prizes, had to settle for best original screenplay, young actor, score, and casting and ensemble.

Among the television prizes, hospital saga "The Pitt" won best drama, Hollywood satire "The Studio" won best comedy, and teen murder drama "Adolescence" won best limited series.

Best talk show winner Jimmy Kimmel joked about his spat with US President Donald Trump last year, which saw the late-night host briefly taken off the air.

In the show's opening monologue, host Chelsea Handler paid tribute to the late Rob Reiner, "the nicest guy in Hollywood."

The beloved "When Harry Met Sally" director and his wife Michele were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home last month.

"Anyone who ever spent time with Rob Reiner knows that the minute that you met him, he felt like an old friend," she said, to emotional applause from the gathered A-listers and critics.


Third ‘Avatar’ Film Passes the $1 Billion Mark Worldwide

"Fire and Ash" stars Zoe Saldana as Na'vi warrior Neytiri and Sam Worthington. (AFP)
"Fire and Ash" stars Zoe Saldana as Na'vi warrior Neytiri and Sam Worthington. (AFP)
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Third ‘Avatar’ Film Passes the $1 Billion Mark Worldwide

"Fire and Ash" stars Zoe Saldana as Na'vi warrior Neytiri and Sam Worthington. (AFP)
"Fire and Ash" stars Zoe Saldana as Na'vi warrior Neytiri and Sam Worthington. (AFP)

"Avatar: Fire and Ash" has surpassed the $1 billion mark at the global box office, as it kept the top spot in North American theaters with another $40 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The third installment in director James Cameron's blockbuster series has now earned $306 million in the United States and Canada, and another $777 million abroad, putting the total at $1.08 billion, Exhibitor Relations reported.

"Fire and Ash" stars Zoe Saldana as Na'vi warrior Neytiri and Sam Worthington as ex-Marine Jake Sully, who must battle a new foe threatening their family's life on the planet Pandora.

It is the fourth Cameron film to pass the $1 billion mark, with the first two "Avatar" films and "Titanic."

In second place in North America was "Zootopia 2," Disney's feel-good animated film and an Oscar contender, at $19 million. Its global total now stands at nearly $1.6 billion.

Coming in third at $14.9 million was Lionsgate's "The Housemaid," a film version of Freida McFadden's best-selling novel about a young woman (Sydney Sweeney) who is hired by a wealthy couple (Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar) with dark secrets.

"Marty Supreme," A24's period sports drama starring Timothee Chalamet, finished in fourth place with $12.6 million.

"Anaconda," the new meta comedy action flick starring Paul Rudd and Jack Black as friends trying to reboot the original 1997 horror film, finished in fifth place with $10 million.


K-pop Stars BTS to Release Album in March Ahead of World Tour

Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
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K-pop Stars BTS to Release Album in March Ahead of World Tour

Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

K-pop megastars BTS will release a new album in March ahead of a world tour, the group announced on Thursday.

South Korea's biggest musical act has been on self-described hiatus since 2022 as its members undertook national military service required of all men under the age of 30.

All seven members were discharged last year, and the group announced a comeback for the spring of 2026.

They confirmed on Thursday that they would release an album on March 20 before heading on tour, AFP reported.

The exact date was revealed in handwritten letters sent to paid members of the official BTS fan group, and later confirmed by their label Big Hit Music.

"I have been waiting more earnestly than anyone else," group leader RM wrote in the letter.

No further details about the album or tour were given.

The album will be BTS's first since the anthology "Proof" which became South Korea's bestselling record of 2022.

Before their military service, BTS generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($3.8 billion) in South Korea per year, according to the government-backed Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.

The figure is equivalent to roughly 0.2 percent of the country's total GDP.

BTS has expanded beyond their home nation to become a global musical phenomenon in recent years.

They hold the record as the most-streamed group on Spotify, and became the first K-pop act to top both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Artist 100 charts in the United States.