Lauren Jauregui, a member of girl group Fifth Harmony, has said that “Aleppo deserves this news coverage” in retaliation to the attention she received for being stopped at a US airport while in possession of marijuana.
The singer, 20, has also apologised to her fans in Brazil for not being there to perform along with her four band-mates at a music festival on Wednesday.
It was reported by TMZ that the American singer had been stopped at a checkpoint at Washington Dulles International Airport on Tuesday when a security officer found what appeared to be a bag of marijuana in her carry-on luggage.
A spokesman for the airport confirmed Lauren had been charged with possession of marijuana and released on summons.
Lauren’s lawyer Dina LaPolt issued a statement to deny the earlier reports that the singer had been arrested at the airport.
Lauren took to Twitter on Thursday to share a post that included the statement, along with a reference to the crisis in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
#sensationalizedmedia #Aleppodeservesthisnewscoverage pic.twitter.com/pRrwOcKHpX
— Lauren Jauregui (@LaurenJauregui) December 15, 2016
Prior to this, she shared a message written in Portuguese for her fans in Brazil, in which she said she was “sorry” for not getting on the plane in time and that she “loves” them all.
— Lauren Jauregui (@LaurenJauregui) December 15, 2016
In recent days, Jauregui has been actively urging her fans on social media to help the civilians caught in the evacuation from the embattled city of Aleppo.
Fifth Harmony formed in 2012 on the American version of The X Factor, which Simon Cowell appeared on as a judge.
Lauren and her four band-mates – Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane and Camila Cabello – had originally auditioned as solo artists and finished third on the show as a group.
They have scored five UK Top 40 singles, including Work From Home which reached number two earlier this year, and brought their 7/27 world tour to the UK in October.
