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One Direction Drug Tests?
An anti-narcotics organization in the Philippines demanded that the British boy band One Direction undergo drug testing when they arrive in Manila to perform at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds March 21-22.
Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
In the press room at the 42nd annual American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles.
Last year, various media reported that two of the group’s members, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, were caught on video smoking marijuana during a World Tour stop in Peru.
The organization, called Laban ng Pamilyang Pilipino, meaning Fight of the Filipino Family, released a statement that read, “This is for the welfare of their fans, mostly youth.”
However, the request has to be made formally in writing through the country’s immigration bureau, whose representative was quoted in Philippine media as saying, “If given enough information, we can actually prevent these drug users from entering the country.”
Predictably, One Direction’s local fans have been up in arms, and set up a trending hashtag, #StopTheDRUGTESTfor1DPH, on Twitter in protest. Many have complained openly to the government. However, there has been some speculation that the band may submit to testing just to show their sincerity.