Thursday, 29 May 2014 | 23:50 PST
-Seats for upcoming Manchester gig now changing hands for just £15
-Ticket website Viagogo say fans and parents are dismayed by 'joint' video
- -They say sales of cheaper One Direction seats up 79% in 24 hours
- -Cheap tickets are also available on sites like Gumtree
- -Children as young as 11 say they want to experiment with drugs after film
One Direction fans and their parents are selling on tickets for upcoming gigs for half their face value because of the band's drugs scandal, it was revealed today.
£30 seats at Sunday's show in Manchester are being offered for £15 after a video first broken by MailOnline showed Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik sharing a 'joint'.
Viagogo, the world's largest ticket marketplace, says that it has seen a 79 per cent spike in One Direction sales in the 24 hours since the footage was published.
Half price tickets for a number of gigs are also available on sites like Gumtree.
Parents who fear the clean-cut group are now a bad influence on their children are thought to be the main reason why tickets are being sold on.
More woes: Seats for the upcoming One Direction gigs are selling for as little as £15 - half the face value - after the now infamous 'joint' video was published, ticket giant viagogo has said
Struggling: Experts told MailOnline there are now 'many' cut price tickets available for shows, including this Gumtree advert for half price Wembley tickets
Damaging: Zayn lights up a 'joint' as he and Louis Tomlinson are driven to their gig in Lima, Peru last month
Fans have also decided to burn or rip up gig tickets over the film where Zayn blows smoke into a camera and Louis laughs about having an 'illegal substance' on their tour bus in Lima, Peru, last month.
A Viagogo spokesman said: 'One Direction are a global phenomenon and in the past Directioners have been some of the most dedicated fans in the world.
'The boys are considered role models, but the question is whether this latest controversy will affect the boyband’s squeaky clean image, as fans – and their parents alike– turn to reselling their tickets'.
He added many 'bargain' tickets are now on sale at 'half the box office price'.
The band has just returned from South America and played the Stadium of Light in Sunderland last night.
The tour then heads to Manchester for three dates starting tomorrow at the Etihad stadium before a night at Murrayfield in Edinburgh. It will culminate in three-nights at Wembley Stadium in early June.
They are then scheduled to head back over the Atlantic to Canada and North America in August, although with allegations of illegal drug taking, they could be banned from entering.
The 'joint' video is said to have upset band mate Harry Styles, who has hit out at Zayn and Louis for their ‘reckless and stupid’ behaviour.
He is said to fear the consequences for the band if the pair are blocked at the U.S. border because 'Everything is about America. It would be a disaster if Zayn and Louis had problems', an insider told The Sun.
Bandmembers Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson last night as they joined the rest of the group for a gig in Sunderland, but parents outside admitted their clean-cut image was now tarnished
Upset: Some One Direction fans have said they have destroyed or sold tickets because they are angry about the video
Message: This tweet reflects some of the anger online at the 'irresponsible' actions of Zayn and Louis in Peru
Emotional: Fans who 'love the band' have been left disappointed by the 'joint' incident
It has also emerged Harry has chosen to fly in a different private jet to Zayn because he does not like his smoking, a source said, amid long-running rumours he would also like a solo career.
Parents of fans outside their SUnderland gig last night said they 'could kill' the pair for their actions and accused them of abandoning responsibility as role models to millions of children.
Drugs charities said they feared the film would encourage young people to try illegal substances.
In the shocking film Louis Tomlinson, 22, narrates from behind the camera, laughingly announcing, ‘So here we are, leaving Peru. Joint lit. Happy days!’
‘What do you think about that kind of content?’ he asks bandmate Zayn Malik, 21, who is alongside him in the SUV ferrying them to Peru’s Estadio Nacional in Lima where One Direction performed to a 40,000 capacity crowd on April 27 as part of their 'Where We Are' tour. ‘Very controversial,’ Zayn responds.
During the 15-minute journey Louis and Zayn joke with each other and the three members of their team travelling with them. Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Niall Horan, all 20, are not in the car but presumably elsewhere in the band’s convoy making its way through the streets.
Louis starts filming while the team prepare to leave. Overhearing discussions between what appears to be a member of the band’s security and the driver he says with delight, ‘It’s about the joint. What a great thing to capture in a different language. They were just asking if it’s okay.’
A member of the team asks about the filming: ‘Are we allowed to talk contraband in this?’
Louis replies: 'Yes, that's what it is about.'
Taking in the sights and smells: At one point, Louis pans to the streets and says he's capturing the local culture. He then focuses back on the roll up cigarette and asks 'How's that kind of culture?'
'Stubbsy!' Louis exclaims happily when passed the roll up cigarette as he holds it very close to the camera
Passed around: Zayn gives the cigarette to one of his minders in the SUV, who later passes it to Louis
Driving into the sunlight from an underground parking lot, Louis says, ‘I want to light up,’ and a member of the team hands him a lighter and the flicker of a roll up being lit is caught on camera.
The sight of a police officer on a motorbike escorting them, is met with great excitement. Louis notes: ‘That’s the police. That’s the po po. One-nil.’ He coughs and a cloud of smoke, floats across the camera lens and Louis yells, ‘Smokescreen baby!’
Later in the video, Louis pans to a police motorcyclist just yards away. Louis giggles, ‘One nil b***h! Look at this b***h! He’s having a look. He’s thinking, “I’m sure I can smell an illegal substance in there.” And he’s hit the nail on the head.
'Zayn smoking weed is hot': One Direction urged to say sorry as children as young as 11 say they want to try drugs
One Direction faced mounting pressure to apologise today after it emerged they had inspired young fans to experiment with drugs.
Children as young as 11 vowed on social networking sites to try cannabis for the first time, saying one of the band members looked ‘hot’ while doing so.
Drug campaigners reacted with fury after the boy band still refused to say sorry, despite facing an almighty backlash from fans, parents and politicians.
One drug charity branded the boys ‘stupid young men dicing with death’ and said it was ‘horrendous’ they had not yet apologised or showed any remorse for their actions.
Anger: Critics have urged One Direction's two members to apologise because they fear the 'joint' video will encourage children and teenagers to try drugs
Admission: Young people have taken to Twitter to admit they now want to try 'weed'
Just hours after MailOnline published footage of Louis Tomlinson, 22, and Zayn Malik, 21, smoking a ‘joint’ before performing on tour in South America last month, they were back on stage in the UK.
On Wednesday the band played at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, on the first leg of their two-week tour across the country.
Although Tomlinson appeared tired and weary on stage– having allegedly struggled to sleep since the fallout – he showed no signs of regret to the thousands of screaming young girls in the crowd. Malik barely said a word during the 90-minute performance.
After seeing the footage, fans began tweeting using the hashtag #zouispassmethatblunt – an amalgamation of the boys’ names followed by another term for a ‘joint’.
One fan wrote: ‘I just turned 11 and idk (I don’t know) what a blunt is but I wanna (sic) smoke it #zouispassmethatblunt.’
Another tweeted: ‘I know that marijuana isn't good for us specifically to us teenagers but damn I want to try smoking weed with them.’
Concerns: Children as young as 11 have said online that they also want to smoke
Warning: Experts said today: 'They have a very young fan base, and these young people just don’t know the damage smoking cannabis can cause'
Anthika wrote: ‘Zayn smoking weed is hot. I wana try weed one day.’
A girl named Tina added: ‘I want to try smoking weed with the boys i wanna know what it feels to be high.’
But despite the Mail today making the band aware of the potentially harmful effect their actions have had on their young fans, they remained silent.
A One Direction spokesman said their only comment was still: ‘This matter is in the hands of our lawyers.’
Lucy Dawe, a spokesman for charity Skunk Sense, told the Mail: ‘It is horrendous that One Direction have not said they are sorry for their behaviour.
‘They have a very young fan base, and these young people just don’t know the damage smoking cannabis can cause.
‘They should certainly apologise, they are in a position where they could be a really good role model for young people.
‘They’ve got these young people that are hanging onto every word they say and instead of showing them how to behave, they are being the worst role models they could possibly be and encouraging young people to do something that could seriously damage their health.
‘It is absolutely devastating. The young girls have absolutely no clue of the dangers of cannabis. They are stupid young men, dicing with death.’
One girl, who had never tried weed, said she believed the band were ‘old enough’ to know what was good for them.
She wrote on Twitter: ‘all d s*** going over abt @Louis_Tomlinson n @zaynmalik smoking weed...I ve never done it tho I think dey r old enough to think wats gud.’
Another wrote: ‘but i actually want to try smoking weed i wanna know how it feels’
One girl added: ‘so my parents just told me if i want to try weed because one direction do weed that i should do it in front of them HAHAHAHAHA.’ — DAILY MAIL UK
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2642724/One-Direction-fans-parents-handing-tickets-upcoming-gigs-selling-half-price-joint-video-scandal-leaves-furious.html#ixzz337URKfs6
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