Hollywood Prankster Vitalii Sediuk Will He Go To Jail?

The famed Ukrainian TV reporter, who once crashed the Grammys stage and showed up to the Oscars in a swan dress, is a free man -- for now.

"I’m still alive as you can see, still smiling," Vitalii Sediuk tells The Hollywood Reporter, days after learning he'd avoided a six-month jail term for his infamous Grammy-night stunt. The catch: He must keep his nose out of trouble for three years, and never step foot on L.A. Live again.

Last February, the eccentric reporter for Ukraine TV channel 1+1 rankled Hollywood and made international headlines for crashing the music awards, where he snatched Adam Levine's seat and mounted the stage moments after presenter Jennifer Lopez read out Adele's name. The spontaneous prank, broadcast to 28 million viewers, landed the joker in jail overnight.

Sediuk, 24, thought he'd be let go with a stern warning, but then-City Attorney Carmen Trutanich had other plans. In April, Trutanich said he intended to prosecute Sediuk to the full extent of the law. He charged Sediuk with one count of willfully leaving a spectator area and entering a performance area and one count of interfering and delaying program participants. The charges carried with them the possibility of six months in jail.

"In this age of heightened security, any person who intentionally crosses that line and acts in an irresponsible manner will be held accountable for his or her actions," Trutanich said in a statement.

Speaking out for the first time since his June 20 hearing, Sediuk reveals that he was stunned to learn that his gatecrashing appearance might carry with it serious consequences.

"I was in Boston, covering the story of the bombing explosion because my editor asked me to do that," says Sediuk, a celebrity junkie occasionally tasked with covering serious news for his Eastern European outlet. "It was a really tough day. I had five live broadcasts and I came back to my hotel and I see notification by email and [a report on] TMZ that I might face up to six months in jail, which came as a complete surprise to me. I was totally exhausted but I passed it along to my employers."

1+1 hired Sediuk a lawyer, Anthony Willoughby, who was instantly bemused by his oddball client, whom he categorizes as "harmless" and a "nice guy."

"He pled no contest and it was a deferred entry of judgment," Willoughby tells THR. "If he stays clean for three years, he'll be able to withdraw his plea and the charges will be dismissed."

According to Sediuk, lawyers for 1+1 looked into Trutanich and concluded that he was using the high-profile case for political leverage among security-obsessed celebrities in an election year. (Trutanich would go on to be defeated on May 21 by Mike Feuer.)

"It all looked like political PR for him," Sediuk says. "It was elections and he wanted to do some good stuff. But I didn’t feel like a victim. I knew this was my fault and I could face anything they could give to me."

Willoughby concurs: "It's like taking a bazooka to a fly."

As part of his plea agreement, Sediuk has sworn never again to set foot anywhere on L.A. Live, the 27-acre entertainment complex that houses Staples Center and the Nokia Theatre -- two venues that play host to countless Hollywood events.

"Let’s be honest," he reasons. "There are only two major events in L.A. Live: the Emmys and Grammys. I think I can survive not attending those two events. There’s so much happening in Los Angeles."

That may be easier said than done for Sediuk, a shameless attention fiend and mischief-maker who once kissed Will Smith on a red carpet and showed up at the Oscars in a Bjork-inspired swan dress -- and was handcuffed there by police tipped off ahead of time by the Academy.

As for what's next, Sediuk says that despite his L.A. Live ban, he's still trying to figure out a way to cover the Emmys, which air live from the Nokia Theatre on Sept. 22.

"I’ll have to think of something," Sediuk says. "Maybe I'll report from a distance."

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Grammys Crasher Jailed for On-Stage Adele Stunt and How He Did It

A Grammys crasher spent the night behind bars for storming the stage during the ceremony -- a moment broadcast around the world but noticed by very few.

Jennifer Lopez held her composure when a man, who once earned a slap from Will Smith on the red carpet, intercepted the singer's win.

At the moment Jennifer Lopez presented Adele with her Grammy for best pop solo performance, the evening's first award, a man in a tuxedo and black glasses appears at the microphone to greet the "Set Fire to the Rain" singer.

"It's such an honor to receive this award," the man can be heard saying as a stunned Adele climbs the stairs to the podium, adding, "I love you, Adele."

Lopez then gives the man a stern look and, with a flick of the thumb, gestures him off stage.

The identity of that man can now be revealed: It was none other than Vitalii Sediuk, a TV presenter on Ukraine's 1+1 who already boasts an international reputation for celebrity pranksterism.
In May, Sediuk grabbed headlines after he kissed Will Smith on the red carpet at the Moscow premiere of Men in Black 3 -- earning a shove and a slap from star.

Holding no ticket or credentials of any kind. He walked by security guards and strolled down the red carpet before entering Staples Center alongside Katy Perry. Once inside the arena, he took a seat in the second row, directly behind Justin Timberlake and wife Jessica Biel.

After he intercepted Adele's moment -- her ninth Grammy win --  and walked off the stage, Sediuk was detained by event security and placed under arrest for trespassing.
Sediuk spent the night in jail, and was released pending a court date set for March.

Sediuk, 24, exclusively tells The Hollywood Reporter how he pulled off the high-risk stunt that landed him in jail.
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!’”

Sediuk insists he had no plans to mount the Grammys stage: "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. … I pretended this was an award for me, and then I said, 'Thank you, Adele. You’re my inspiration.'”

"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 says. After he walked backstage, crew and security were ready for him -- and weren't pleased.

"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. Then police guys took me to a room and asked a lot of questions about how I got inside," he says.

After being cuffed, fingerprinted, photographed and spending a night in a cold jail cell, Sediuk was charged with trespassing and released Monday morning pending a March court date. As for his crime, he accepts his punishment but insists that while he can sometimes "be rude," his antics are mostly innocuous and well-meaning.
"My purpose is to entertain and to show a different emotion of celebrities,"

Grammy Awards Crasher Vitalii Sediuk Reveals How He Did It (Exclusive Video) http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/grammy-awards-crasher-vitalii-sediuk-420751

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