Stranded Chris Brown protests over cancelled gig fraud claims

Brown is still in the country and has not applied for the emigration clearance he needs to leave Manila, Immigration Bureau spokeswoman Elaine Tan said.

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 an expletive-laden video posted on Instagram, Brown clowns around, asking: “Can somebody please tell me what... is going on?

“I don’t know, I’m reading headlines after headlines...” He then smiles as his companions laugh in the background.

In another video, Brown said that when he gets to customs he will say he did nothing wrong. He then breaks into a dance as people laugh.

The videos were later apparently removed from Brown’s Instagram account.

The dispute goes back to last New Year’s Eve when Brown cancelled 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 organisers said they were told at the time by Brown’s representative that the singer lost his passport and could not make it to the concert.

In a complaint, Maligaya Development Corp said Brown and his Canadian promoter, John Michael Pio Roda, backed out of the concert after they were paid in full for a $1m (£641,000) 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.