Many have accused Wen of “re-traumatising” Grande after she has spoken out about experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder after her Manchester concert in 2017, where a bomb killed 22 and injured hundreds. Grande has had no small amount of hardships over the past few years, with a very publicly speculated divorce and experience with PTSD- and Wen’s act of jumping the barriers and charging at Grande, even going so far as to grab her shoulders and jumping up and down, understandably visibly shocked her. After co-star Cynthia Erivo pried him off, Grande was seen unsmiling and distant during the rest of the premiere- an event which should have been a celebration of her hard work on the sequel of a multi-million dollar movie. Thanks to people like Wen, celebrities are forced to constantly be on high alert whilst in the public eye; to what extent should we be allowing this to happen?
People become so enraptured with a celebrity’s life that they begin to forget the difference between an online presence and real life
Wen’s public invasion is far from the only example of parasocial invasion we’ve seen over the past few decades. Crazed fans have always existed- just look at Beatle Mania- but the introduction of social media and the internet has only encouraged celebrity stalkers and obsession over celebrities to occur. Nowadays, a quick look at a celebrity’s social media will show you an intimate look into their lives. Stories about the food they’ve just eaten, the restaurant they’ve just exited, posts about their trip to the Bahamas, even livestreams answering questions is considered completely normal for a celebrity to post online. It instantly connects the celebrity and their fans, to the point where you start to believe you might know them in real life- that they’re not that different to you after all. The issues start when people become so enraptured with a celebrity’s life that they begin to forget the difference between an online presence and real life; what we are allowed to see, and what is bordering on privacy invasion.
Celebrity singer Lily Allen endured a stalker for over seven years, only resulting in his arrest when he broke into her family home while her and her children were sleeping in 2015. When questioned, the police stated “he wanted to cut her with a knife”. In 2024, Harry Styles had a fan jailed when she sent the singer 8,000 cards in less than a month. Taylor Swift warranted a restraining order against her stalker in 2025 when he visited her house several times and claimed he shared a child with her. Stalkerish behaviour is normal for celebrities, and this even bleeds into less extreme parasocial behaviour: fans tweeting creep-shots of celebrities out with their significant others, or leaking unreleased music and promo. This normalisation of the lack of borders between media and reality, with agencies pushing celebrities to share every aspect about their lives for consumerist relatability, is now becoming more of an issue than ever.
Whilst being famous comes with a cost, should it take up every waking moment of a celebrity’s life?
So is it time to do something about it? In 2012, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the media can publish articles and photographs about celebrities without their approval, providing they have balanced their rights to freedom of expression with the individuals' privacy rights. Despite several celebrities suing tabloids for printing false stories- Cameron Diaz, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and Britney Spears have all sued gossip magazines for printing lies about them- it doesn’t appear to have much of a negative effect. False stories, fuelled by social media, go unpunished; the media appears to value commercial appeal more than respecting privacy if it financially benefits them. Meanwhile, A-Listers have to live with false stories alongside the threat of fan invasion; is it surprising that so many celebrities go through countless therapy sessions or use addiction to cope with the neverending public eye?
With this in mind, should Wen have been sentenced to longer than just nine days in prison? Whilst his initial breakthrough might have been seen as innocent- a crazed fan trying to get near his idol- it is far from the first time he has caused a stir in the middle of public events. Aside from traumatising Grande and invading her space, this should be something that the law should be taking far more seriously. We’ve all heard the stories of people not being believed until the worst happens- and whilst celebrities aren’t always vocal about the struggles of being in the spotlight, can we blame them? Celebrities get labelled ‘ungrateful’ and ‘unrealistic’ when they talk about the toll that being a public figure causes them; whilst being famous comes with a cost, should it take up every waking moment of a celebrity’s life? The first step towards progression is keeping ourselves accountable: the next time you see a blurry clip of a celebrity walking out of a bar with someone, or being followed by fans, think about the consequences of what you’re seeing. To us, it’s just a video of someone we vaguely know doing something scandalous. To them, it’s their life- a life we know nothing about. Sometimes, it’s better to keep it that way.