Stephen Speaks sheds light, apologizes for ‘bribery’ incident
American acoustic rock band Stephen Speaks has issued clarification and apology to Filipino fans after their viral bribery incident.
Last Friday, the Passenger Seat and Out Of My League hitmakers shared a hilarious experience in the country through Facebook. While in Manila, their driver got pulled over by a traffic enforcer for allegedly beating the red light.
However, the band escaped the infraction after the tour crew “bribed” the officer with a selfie with Rockwell Ryan Ripperger. The Stephen Speak’s frontman, who seemed to be the one who authored the post, said he couldn’t believe it worked.
Consequently, the incident sparked online discussion, with some raising concerns over the misusage of authority to breach traffic laws.
Stephen Speaks clarifies ‘bribery’ incident
On Saturday, Stephen Speaks released a statement on Facebook to address the issue, which has gotten out of hand. It particularly attracted the attention of officials from the Metro Manila Development Authority, who intend to seek probe of the scenario.
The band penned in the said post, “Hi everyone. Thanks for reaching out, but we’re moving on from this. We did not mean anything by (what happened). It was just a poor choice of words on our part. It was done in jest that resulted in this.”
Moreover, the group apologized to “all who have been bothered.” They assured that they respect the Philippine authorities, noting the event will serve them their lessons.
Meanwhile, Ripperger provided clarification of the incident in an additional remark of his post. The singer-songwriter explained that although the enforcer agreed to take a selfie, their driver showed dash cam footage to prove their violations wrong.
“We aren’t criminals here. It’s like the replay in a sports game when the referee realizes he saw it wrong. I apologize for using the word ‘bribe.’ That’s not actually how it went down,” he wrote.
Last Sunday, Stephen Speaks concluded its Philippine tour with a show in Ayala Malls, Fairview Terraces.
