Ariana Grande’s Stalker Pleads Guilty, Facing Years Behind Bars

Ariana Grande may be able to breathe a sigh of relief. The “Almost Is Never Enough” singer has been dealing with an obsessed stalker, and things got dangerous and scary. For years, she’s had to watch over her shoulder and even was uncomfortable in her home thanks to his crazed antics. Once, he showed up at her L.A. home with a knife. Thankfully, he was recently convicted of harassment and stalking-related charges and is facing years in prison. TMZ reports Aharon Zebulun Israel Brown pleaded guilty to charges of stalking, residential burglary, and making criminal threats against Grande in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties, dating back to 2021. Santa Barbara County District D.A. John T. Savrnoch said Brown will be sentenced in May 2024 to three years and eight months in a California state prison. But his punishment doesn’t end there. Once released from prison, Brown will have to abide by following guidelines under a strict retraining order that forbids him from having any contact with Grande for 10 years.

Per reports, for eight months in 2021 alone, Brown forced his way into Ariana’s Hollywood mansion nearly 100 times. He brought along a deadly weapon on at least one occasion. Brown confronted Grande’s security guards while brandishing the knife, threatening to kill them and the Wicked star. He was taken away in handcuffs after police were called to the home. He didn’t stop there. 

The following summer, Brown broke into Ariana’s Montecito home and slashed wires connected to the alarm system and phone lines. Police rushed to the home and found Brown balled up in a crawl space inside the house. Grande was not home at the time.

Celebrities have been fighting for better legal protection against crazed fans since the 1980s. In 1989, model and actress Rebecca Schaeffer was killed by a man many described as a “deranged fan” named Robert John Bardo. He’d harassed her for months leading up to the killing by showing up to her workplace and sending fan mail. He located her apartment after hiring a private investigator. She was 21 years old at the time of her murder.