MANILA, Philippines — 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 canceled 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.

The 26-year-old R&B singer performed at a packed concert in Manila on Tuesday but has been prevented from leaving since then.

The dispute dates 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 1 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 filing charges in court.


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