Entertainment

Stuck in Manila, Chris Brown Pleads, ‘Please, Let Us Leave’

Published

11 years ago

July 23, 2015

A Gulf Stream private jet chartered by Grammy award-winning singer Chris Brown, sits at the end of a taxiway housing private hangars of the Manila Domestic Airport at suburban Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines Thursday, July 23, 2015. Chris Brown, who performed at a packed concert Tuesday night, was barred from leaving the country following fraud allegations against him and his promoter for a canceled concert last New Year’s Eve in the Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — 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 performed at a packed concert in Manila on Tuesday but has been prevented from leaving since then.

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.

A new video posted around midnight showed Brown kneeling on the same patterned carpet as before and pleading, “Please, please, let us leave, please,” then doing a back flip. The clip’s caption seemed to be a mock appeal to President Barack Obama.

The dispute traces back to last New Year’s Eve when Brown canceled a concert at the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena north of Manila, which is 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 bloc 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 for 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 filed a formal complaint with a prosecutor at the Department of Justice, a preliminary step before the filing of charges in court.

Brown was being delayed while immigration officials consulted with the Justice Department about the case, Tan said.

A concert scheduled in Hong Kong for Wednesday was rescheduled to Thursday. A club manager who did not want to be named said late Thursday evening that the concert was being rescheduled again but the date was uncertain until they heard back from Brown’s representatives.

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 cancelation was the recent unrest in Tolikara district of Papua province.

Last week, a mob attacked Muslims marking the end of Ramadan and a mosque and several Muslim-owned stores went up in flames, allegedly after a meeting of Christian leaders was disrupted by the volume of the mosque’s loudspeakers. Soldiers and police stopped the angry mob, wounding 12 people with warning shots.

Papua is Indonesia’s easternmost province, far from the capital, but the violence angered many Muslims. Security was the main concern of Brown’s management, said Rangga Ibiza from E-Motion Entertainment. “No matter how small the security issue is …, it would influence their decision to hold the concert.”

___

Associated Press writers Angela Chen in Hong Kong and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

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Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

Published

1 week ago

October 4, 2026

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From Historic Memories to New Possibilities: Oakland Celebrates Coliseum 60

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, September 18, for Coliseum 60, an event marking six decades of sports, entertainment, employment, and community memories at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex. Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum first opened, the celebration featured cultural performances and a mini-documentary highlighting its history. Speakers reflected on the venue’s significant role in the community and its future possibilities. Read more to learn about the individuals and stories honored during this special event.

Published

2 weeks ago

September 27, 2026

Post News Group

Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE moderates a panel discussion at the Coliseum 60 celebration at Youth UpRising featuring Keith Brown, a member of IATSE Local 107; author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; and African American Sports and Entertainment Group President Ray Bobbitt.

By Carla Thomas

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, Sept. 18, for Coliseum 60, a celebration honoring six decades of sports, entertainment, employment and community memories connected to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex.

Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum opened, the event carried the theme, “One Community. One Legacy. One Future. Forward Together.”

The celebration opened with the national anthem performed by sisters Anese Jade, Amina Benjamin and Zaza Benjamin. Diamano Coura West African Dance Company contributed African dance and drumming, bringing movement, rhythm and cultural expression to the program.

A mini documentary highlighted the Coliseum’s sports history and its broader role as an entertainment destination. Archival material recalled performances by Prince and Tina Turner, along with memorable games featuring the Warriors, Oakland A’s and Raiders.

“The Coliseum 60 is about much more than celebrating a building or looking back at 60 years of history,” said event organizer Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE.

“It’s about the people who made that history possible: the families, workers, athletes, artists, community leaders, fans and generations who gathered there and created memories together.”

A panel exploring that history featured author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; stagehand and union representative Keith Brown; and Ray Bobbitt, president of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group AASEG. Lewis described her family as fourth-generation Bay Area pioneers.

“My family and Black families who arrived even earlier helped build the Bay Area, grew businesses and established culture here,” Lewis said. “This should be taught in the public schools.”

Lewis recalled Oakland’s influence on sports, music and literature, from the Raiders’ beginnings at Laney College to stars such as The Pointer Sisters and Rickey Henderson who attended Oakland public schools. She also advocated for school museums, historical timelines, entrepreneurship training and investments benefiting corridors such as Bancroft Avenue and High Street.

Keith Brown, a member of Local 107 of the International Alliance of Theater and Stage Employees (IATSE) who began working at the Coliseum in 2011, remembered the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Ice Capades, baseball bat giveaways and Nelson Mandela’s 1990 appearance.

“The special events are amazing, but it’s the workers that make the memories real for everyone,” Brown said. “They make the magic happen at the Coliseum.”

The program recognized longtime workers, including beer-stand manager Robert Preston, who served for 40 years, and Kenyatta Gentry, who worked as a vendor for 24 years and used her earnings to purchase her first apartment. Union workers Jose Gonzales and Carmen Sandoval were also honored. Speakers emphasized that Coliseum employment provided generations of residents with union wages and benefits.

Dr. Denise Saddler, the superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) was also honored. Saddler shared her family’s history of working at the Coliseum.

District 7 Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston discussed the complex ownership arrangements involving the city, county and private interests.

“This was the most complex deal of its kind in the country,” Houston said.

Prior to moving from the East Coast, Alameda County Supervisor and Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Chair Nate Miley recalled learning about Oakland through its three professional sports teams. As an elected official and public servant, Miley fought hard to keep the Golden State Warriors, Oakland As, and the Raiders, but he is hopeful for the future.

“The story is not over for the Coliseum,” Miley said. “We’re entering a new chapter.”

Bobbitt said the departure of three teams had once seemed unimaginable, but he maintained that Oakland’s future remains bright.

“Oakland is a cultural superpower worldwide,” Bobbitt said. “We’re going to write the future where we participate and drive the redevelopment.”

Bobbitt highlighted AASEG’s four-year partnership with Castlemont High School’s architecture program, which engages students in reimagining and creating redevelopment concepts for the Coliseum property. “The youth will always move us forward. They are the future.”

In closing, Atkins said, “September 18 is the celebration, but what we build together afterward is the legacy.”