Around GMA

Article Inside Page

It's been more than two decades since the American band Stephen Speaks broke onto Filipino airwaves with their song “Passenger Seat”, and now the band and its vocalist Rockwell Ryan Ripperger are going viral among Filipinos again - but not entirely for their music.

A post on the Stephen Speaks Facebook page recounting an incident at a red light has become viral and sparked a discussion on the post, as well as a clarification from Ripperger himself.

As of this writing, there are 7.4 thousand reactions and more than 300 comments on the post. The viral post has also been shared more than a thousand times.

The post talked about how the vehicle service the band was riding had been pulled over for running a red light, and that the driver was able to get out of getting a ticket by “bribing” the traffic officer with a selfie with the singer. While the post may have been meant to be innocuous, it instead ignited a discussion that has even prompted the band to include an addendum to the post.

Some comments called for the government to give the band a “gift” that they will “regret,” as well as accusing the band of making the post to generate “hype.” Another sarcastically noted that bribing a law enforcement officer was a “nice” way to introduce the country to his audience.

Meanwhile, other commenters chose to have fun with the post instead, quoting snippets from “Passenger Seat” that fit into the situation.

Eventually, the post had to be edited with an explanation. According to the addendum, the TNVS driver had already shown on his dash cam that the traffic violation was not his fault, and that nobody in the situation was a “criminal.” Ripperger said that he merely saved the driver from a ticket he didn't deserve and that “haters need to relax.”

Stephen Speaks is currently in the country for a mall tour. The band is set to perform at Ayala Bay today and at Ayala Terraces tomorrow.

MEANWHILE, HERE ARE OTHER INTERNATIONAL ACTS EXPECTED TO VISIT THE PHILIPPINES THIS YEAR: