One Direction concert promoter speaks up

One Direction on tour in 2013 (Wikipedia photo)

MANILA – In response to the recent call from a seemingly over-zealous member of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to ban English-Irish pop group One Direction from performing in the country, the concert promoter has spoken up.

Music Management International’s (MMI) CEO Rhiza Pascua took to Instagram, on which she posted a photo with a message, “Watching an artist perform and listening to their music does NOT mean a fan will follow everything an artist does. GOOD PARENTING TRUMPS BAD INFLUENCES.”

In her post, Pascua made it clear that she is not disagreeing with the Catholic community, rather pointing out that “being a good Catholic also means good parenting and personal responsibility.”

Earlier, Fr. Conegundo Garganta of the Episcopal Commission on Youth made a statement that One Direction should not be allowed to enter the country after a video leak of two of its members, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, smoking what was described as a “joint.”

Follow up statements from Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop and Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Socrates Villegas, however, emphasized that the statement made by Fr. Garganta was the priest’s personal opinion, and not the group’s collective stand..

Meanwhile, Pascua also called upon parents parents of children to” communicate with our kids. Let’s guide them in what is right and help them navigate life instead of over-reacting and pointing fingers.”

Liam Payne, a member of the popular boy band expressed his regret over the leaked video; tweeting the following: “I love my boys and maybe things have gone a little sideways I apologize for that,” he said via Twitter.