Celebrities

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Grammy gate-crasher asks for Adele's help

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 02/13/2013 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

LOS ANGELES -- The man who was arrested after attempting to upstage Adele at Sunday's Grammy Awards has a new message for the singer: "Help me."

Vitalii Sediuk says his appearance onstage at the Grammys was a spontaneous event and that he is only now realizing that it might have legal consequences for him. The Ukrainian journalist, who did not have a ticket to the awards show, spent several hours in police custody before being released with a trespassing citation and a March 4 court date.

Sediuk briefly took the microphone Sunday night before Adele accepted her award. He only got a few words out before Jennifer Lopez shooed him away.

"It was spontaneous," Sediuk said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

He said he realizes now that he may be banned from covering award shows, which would be problematic for a reporter who's already got a reputation for awkward celebrity encounters. Last year, Will Smith slapped Sediuk, 24, after he tried to kiss the actor on a red carpet, and he drew Madonna's ire a year earlier by presenting her a bouquet of flowers she hated.

He said he hopes that Adele, who called Lopez her "good luck charm" at Sunday's show, will help him out of his latest mess.

"Oh, Adele. Help me not to go to jail," Sediuk said.

He said he arrived at the show in a car that had access to the red carpet, and he did a few interviews before attempting to follow Nicole Kidman into the show. She stopped to talk to reporters and he then followed Katy Perry in -- all without a guard ever stopping him to ask for a ticket. Once inside, he got a seat near the stage, apparently taking Adam Levine's seat.

Publicists for the Grammys did not return email messages about security at the event. The show received additional police protection due to the ongoing hunt for ex-officer Christopher Dorner, who is suspected of three killings.

He said he hopes the incident exposes some security flaws. "It's their fault as well," he said.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 13, 2013 C2

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