14 DAY TRIAL // One Direction has finally broken the silence after the leak of a video showing bandmembers Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik smoking pot while on a ride through Peru after one of their shows there. Liam Payne has personally taken to Twitter to apologize.
The video was never meant to go public but, somehow, it got out and was published by the British tabloid The Daily Mail. Because of the squeaky clean image of all One Direction boys, the biggest boyband of the moment, it caused outrage among fans and led to a huge backlash, which also included burning tickets for the band’s upcoming shows and posting vile comments about them online.
That the two boys smoked weed in the video, believe it or not, was not the worst part about it, but rather the fact that they showed clear signs they had been doing it for some time. The two were also shown mocking the police and even their fans, which only added insult to injury.
The bottom line is that the leak of the video was a huge blow to the image manager Simon Cowell has been trying hard to maintain ever since he discovered the boys on X Factor in 2010. Fans felt betrayed by their idols and, according to many accounts in the UK media, they had every reason to feel this way because they’d been lied to repeatedly by the very boys they idolized.
While Louis and Zayn are yet to say anything on the uproar, Liam has taken matters into his own hands, apologizing to fans and thanking those who are yet to turn their back on One Direction. He’s obviously chalking up the episode captured on camera (by Louis no less) to age and immaturity.
“I love my boys and maybe things have gone a little sideways I apologize for that. We are only in our 20's we all do stupid things at this age. We all have a lot of growing up to do in an extreme circumstance I'm not making excuse but it's fact we are gunna fall short somewhere,” Liam writes.
“Hopefully we stand the test of time an get it right in the end I don't take this for granted and im extremely grateful to be here doing this. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with us through this just know that we love you guys for it and it means the world,” he continues.
After the video emerged online, it became a trending topic on social media. Fans who felt disappointed to the max made it a point of burning or reselling their tickets to upcoming One Direction shows, while promising never to support the guys in the future, no matter what.
One Direction is now in the middle of an international tour and, even though they can stand to lose a few thousand fans and not even feel the difference (yes, they are that popular!), it’s best if they go in damage control mode ASAP.
This is what Liam is doing and, though he might sound sincere in his apology, the real question is: will the fans, the One Directioners believe him, and forgive and forget?