Notorious celebrity prankster Vitalii Sediuk had no problem bypassing security at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in L.A. Feb. 10. The Ukrainian TV journalist, who nearly claimed Adele's Bets Pop Solo Performance award as his own, revealed how he pulled off the stunt in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
"My channel didn't get credentialed, so I went with friends who had tickets," Sediuk explained. "They didn't check how many we had, so I was let in. First I went to the media line and interviewed quite a few celebrities, like Jennifer Lopez and Nicole Kidman. . . Then I just followed one girl in a green dress through the [Staples Center] gates. They checked my pockets but never asked to see a ticket. Only once I was inside the building did I realize, 'Oh my gosh, it's Katy Perry!'"
Moments before the show began, Sediuk found an empty seat in the second row behind Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel. "I think it belonged to Adam Levine," he recalled, "because he was sitting on the ground."
Sediuk insisted his stunt wasn't premeditated. "The idea to go on the stage came up at the last second. To be honest, Adele is my favorite singer. So when I heard her name, I came up with this idea to go up on the stage and say what I said," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I pretended this was an award for me, and then I said, 'Thank you, Adele. You’re my inspiration.'"
Before Adele collected her prize, presenter Lopez shot Seduik a dirty look and shooed him away with a flick of her thumb.
"I don't remember her [facial] expression, but I remember someone pulled me. When I saw the video, I realized it was Jennifer Lopez," Sediuk said.
Shortly after, Sediuk was taken into custody. "People were quite angry. I felt very nervous — this will sound funny — and I asked for water. And one guy was so furious, but he brought water," he shared. "Then police guys took me to a room and asked a lot of questions about how I got inside."
Sediuk was cuffed, fingerprinted and photographed by police. He spent a night in jail and was charged with trespassing. He is expected to appear in court in March. "My purpose is to entertain and to show a different emotion of celebrities," said Sediuk, who was once slapped for forcefully kissing Will Smith on the red carpet. "I'm not a crazy guy. I just think differently."