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Ariana Grande Granted 5-Year Restraining Order Against Alleged Stalker
The pop star says she worries that Aharon Zebulun Brown could murder her or members of her family.
Pop sensation Ariana Grande was granted a five-year restraining order this week against a man who she says has been stalking her for months and threatening to kill her and her family.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Reginald Neal approved the protection order on Tuesday for Grande, whose legal name is Ariana Grande-Butera, NBC News reports. The order will last until 2026.
The decision came after one of the 23-year-old pop star’s security guards gave testimony detailing how Aharon Zebulun Brown, 23, allegedly stalked and threatened the “Thank U, Next” singer.
Brown is accused of showing up at Grande’s Los Angeles residence repeatedly since February and at one point, showing up every day for a period of two to three weeks. The most recent alleged visit was on Sept. 10 when Brown arrived "brandishing a knife and yelling threatening statements,” an order filed by Grande alleges. Brown allegedly told one of the star’s security guards "I'll f---ing kill you and her” when confronted.
The police were called during that incident and Brown was detained after allegedly trying to flee on foot.
Los Angeles police Detective Peter Doomanis said in a court statement that “upon conducting a pat-down search of Mr. Brown, LAPD officers recovered a knife from Mr. Brown's front pant pocket,” according to NBC News.
Shortly before his final visit, Brown allegedly showed up at Grande’s home three times within 12 hours.
Grande has never met or communicated with Brown, she said.
"The fact that Mr. Brown has been regularly coming to my home for over six months terrifies me. I am also fearful because Mr. Brown has recently been coming to my home every day, has threatened violence, and has brought a weapon to my home," Grande said in her legal statement, obtained by NBC News.
The singer expressed that without a restraining order, she feared that Brown could “continue to come to my home and attempt to physically harm or murder me or members of my family.”
This is not Grande’s first rodeo dealing with harassment. In 2016, a Massachusetts man named Timothy Normandin pleaded guilty to criminal harassment for bothering the star for about two years, MassLive reported in 2016.
