Entertainment

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

Published

10 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 December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

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15 hours ago

January 2, 2026

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

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1 week ago

December 25, 2025

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Alameda County

Bling It On: Holiday Lights Brighten Dark Nights All Around the Bay

On the block where I grew up in the 1960s, it was an unwritten agreement among the owners of those row homes to put up holiday lights: around the front window and door, along the porch banister, etc. Some put the Christmas tree in the window, and you could see it through the open slats of the blinds.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Christmas lights on a house near the writer’s residence in Oakland. Photo by Joseph Shangosola.

By Wanda Ravernell

I have always liked Christmas lights.

From my desk at my front window, I feel a quiet joy when the lights on the house across the street come on just as night falls.

My father, the renegade of the block, made no effort with lights, so my mother hung a wreath with two bells in the window. Just enough to let you know someone was at home.

Two doors down was a different story. Mr. King, the overachiever of the block, went all out for Christmas: The tree in the window, the lights along the roof and a Santa on his sleigh on the porch roof.

There are a few ‘Mr. Kings’ in my neighborhood.

In particular is the gentleman down the street. For Halloween, they erected a 10-foot skeleton in the yard, placed ‘shrunken heads’ on fence poles, pumpkins on steps and swooping bat wings from the porch roof. They have not held back for Christmas.

The skeleton stayed up this year, this time swathed in lights, as is every other inch of the house front. It is a light show that rivals the one in the old Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia.

I would hate to see their light bill…

As the shortest day of the year approaches, make Mr. King’s spirit happy and get out and see the lights in your own neighborhood, shopping plazas and merchant areas.

Here are some places recommended by 510 Families and Johnny FunCheap.

Oakland

Oakland’s Temple Hill Holiday Lights and Gardens is the place to go for a drive-by or a leisurely stroll for a religious holiday experience. Wear a jacket, because it’s chilly outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 4220 Lincoln Ave., particularly after dark. The gardens are open all day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the lights on from dusk until closing.

Alameda

Just across the High Street Bridge from Oakland, you’ll find Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda.

On Thompson Avenue between High Street and Fernside drive, displays range from classic trees and blow-ups to a comedic response to the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Lights turn on at dusk and can be seen through the first week in January.

Berkeley

The Fourth Street business district from University Avenue to Virginia Street in Berkeley comes alive with lights beginning at 5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2026.

There’s also a display at one house at 928 Arlington St., and, for children, the Tilden Park Carousel Winter Wonderland runs through Jan. 4, 2026. Closed Christmas Day. For more information and tickets, call (510) 559-1004.

Richmond

The Sundar Shadi Holiday Display, featuring a recreation of the town of Bethlehem with life-size figures, is open through Dec. 26 at 7501 Moeser Lane in El Cerrito.

Marin County

In Marin, the go-to spot for ‘oohs and ahhs’ is the Holiday Light Spectacular from 4-9 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2026, at Marin Center Fairgrounds at 10 Ave of the Flags in San Rafael through Jan. 4. Displays dazzle, with lighted walkways and activities almost daily. For more info, go to: www.marincounty.gov/departments/cultural-services/department-sponsored-events/holiday-light-spectacular

The arches at Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Dr. will also be illuminated nightly.

San Francisco

Look for light installations in Golden Gate Park, chocolate and cheer at Ghirardelli Square, and downtown, the ice rink in Union Square and the holiday tree in Civic Center Plaza are enchanting spots day and night. For neighborhoods, you can’t beat the streets in Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, and Bernal Heights. For glee and over-the-top glitz there’s the Castro, particularly at 68 Castro Street.

Livermore

The winner of the 2024 Great Light Flight award, Deacon Dave has set up his display with a group of creative volunteers at 352 Hillcrest Avenue since 1982. See it through Jan. 1, 2026. For more info, go to https://www.casadelpomba.com

Fremont

Crippsmas Place is a community of over 90 decorated homes with candy canes passed out nightly through Dec. 31. A tradition since 1967, the event features visits by Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Dec. 18 and Dec. 23 and entertainment by the Tri-M Honor Society at 6 p.m. on Dec. 22. Chrippsmas Place is located on: Cripps Place, Asquith Place, Nicolet Court, Wellington Place, Perkins Street, and the stretch of Nicolet Avenue between Gibraltar Drive and Perkins Street.