MANILA, PHILIPPINES—In a profanity-laced video, Grammy award-winning singer Chris Brown vented his frustration Thursday at being stuck in the Philippines for a second day after running afoul of a politically powerful religious group that filed a fraud complaint against him for a cancelled concert.
Brown was still in the country Thursday evening and had not applied for the emigration clearance he needs to leave Manila, Immigration Bureau spokeswoman Elaine Tan said in a text message to the AP.
The 26-year-old R&B singer was prevented from leaving on a private plane on Wednesday, a day after a packed concert in Manila.
In videos posted on Instagram, Brown clowns around, asking, "Can somebody please tell me what the (expletive) is going on?
"I don't know, I'm reading headlines after headlines, what the (expletive)!" he added, smiling as his companions laugh in the background while sprawled on sofas.
In another video, Brown says when he gets to customs, he will say he did nothing wrong. He then breaks into dance as people laugh.
The expletive-laden video appeared to have been removed from Brown's Instagram account Thursday.
The dispute traces back to last New Year's Eve when Brown cancelled a concert at the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena north of Manila, operated by a corporation owned by the politically influential Iglesia ni Cristo religious group.
The 101-year-old group is believed to have more than a million members both in the Philippines and abroad and is known to vote as a block in a nation where politicians often seek endorsements from church leaders.
The organizers said they were told at that time by Brown's representative that the singer lost his passport and could not make it to the concert.
In a complaint, the Maligaya Development Corp. says Brown and his Canadian promoter, John Michael Pio Roda, backed out of the concert after they were paid in full in a $1-million contract.
MDC promoted the concert and sold tickets based on the guarantee that Brown would perform, the complaint alleged.
The religious group asked the Department of Justice for help in prosecuting Brown, although no charges have been filed.
Brown was being delayed while immigration officials consulted with the Justice Department about the case, Tan said.
A spokeswoman for Brown in the U.S., Nicole Perna, said Wednesday the misunderstanding was resolved and that Brown would continue with his planned performances in Hong Kong on Thursday.
A person who answered the phone at the Hong Kong venue said, "He said he's coming" to perform Thursday evening. The two cities are several hours flying time apart.
Another concert, scheduled for Saturday in Jakarta, Indonesia, was cancelled due to safety concerns, according to Brown's Twitter account.
An Indonesian promoter, Trilogy Live, said it looked forward to having Brown come to Jakarta later and that tickets would be refunded.
Another promoter, E-Motion Entertainment, told reporters that one reason for the cancellation was the recent unrest in Tolikara district of Papua province.
Source: Chris Brown stuck in Philippines, posts profanity-laden video
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