Nearly half of the public say a video showing One Direction smoking cannabis will encourage fans to take drugs – but only 28% think more negatively of them because of it
A video was released to the Daily Mail last week appearing to show two members of the pop band One Direction smoking cannabis. One of the band members narrates the video, saying: “So, here we are, leaving Peru. Joint lit. Happy days”. Shortly after, ticket websites saw spikes in sales as worried parents tried to get rid of tickets at reduced costs, and fans as young as 11 began tweeting about how they want to try smoking cannabis.
A new YouGov survey finds that 45% of the public think the video will encourage fans to take drugs. 43% think the video will have no effect, but over-40s are more likely (47%) to think the video could cause drug use than under-40s (40%).
The band’s reputation amongst the public has not been drastically altered, however. While 28% say it makes them feel more negatively about One Direction, 58% say it makes no difference (15% already had a positive opinion and still do, 43% already had a negative opinion and still do).
One Direction member Liam Payne has now made a public apology. On Twitter, he said: “I love my boys and maybe things have gone a little sideways. I apologise for that. We are only in our 20's we all do stupid things at this age”.
Image: Getty
