Wearing a white T-shirt and red shorts with pro-Palestine messages, an Australian man invaded the Narendra Modi Stadium pitch in Ahmedabad during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia on Sunday, November 19. Johnson Wen from Toowong, a TikToker who goes by the name Pyjama Man, had forced his way into the pitch holding an LGBTQIA+ Pride flag after the 13th over in the first innings when India was batting, his face partially covered in a mask bearing the red, black, white and green of the Palestinian flag. He approached India’s star batter Virat Kohli and was seen putting his arms around Kohli’s shoulders, who pushed them away gently, immediately after which he was swiftly escorted out by the security personnel. But this is not the first time the Australian man has invaded a game with political statements.
In August this year, Johnson had intercepted the FIFA Women’s World Cup final wherein Spain defeated England. He was spotted running into the pitch and approaching England player Lauren Hemp, wearing a T-shirt that says ‘Free Ukraine’ and ‘Stop Putler’, accompanied by the mashup image of Russian President Vladimir Putin and German dictator Adolf Hitler. He was immediately dragged away by the security personnel. His demonstration at the time was against Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine in 2022.
Johnson garnered a following on TikTok by pulling pranks wearing his trademark pyjamas and performing the “floss” (an internet dancing trend) in public places, which has gotten him into trouble with the law multiple times before. In 2020, he invaded the field at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium during State of Origin III — an annual best-of-three rugby league series in Australia — a stunt that cost him a fine of AUS $220. He also performed a dance at the stadium, the video of which was later posted on the short-video platform TikTok.
According to reports, Johnson has also been fined to the tune of AUS $250 for performing a dangerous stunt that left him dangling off a footbridge in Brisbane, for which the TikToker plead guilty to committing public nuisance and unregulated high risk activity. In another incident, Johnson once apparently walked into the middle of the road at the South Brisbane bus terminal, where he repeatedly threw a hat in circles before lying down. The police alleged that a bus was forced to slow down to avoid hitting him.
On Sunday, however, Johnson had walked onto the Ahmedabad stadium with clear political messages, his T-shirt stating ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Stop bombing Palestine’. In a short video recorded after he was taken away by the security personnel, he says that his name is Johnson, and he entered the field to meet Virat Kohli. To a journalist’s question about his pro-Palestine T-shirt, he said that he supported Palestine.
In the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, the death toll of civilians has crossed over 11,000 with a majority of the victims being women and children. Israel has also been condemned by many for its airstrikes on hospitals in its search for Hammas. Earlier this week, India had voted in favour of a United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlements in Palestine. The resolution disapproved settlement activities in ‘Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan’.