If there’s one inarguable truth about the internet in the 21st Century, it’s that you don’t want to piss off One Direction fans. More fearsome than Anonymous and Malcolm Turnbull put together, even the slightest infraction will see a soul-crushing tidal wave of social media hate directed towards you.
If you don’t believe us, just ask Melbourne outfit and J Award winners Clubfeet, who’ve been unfairly targeted by the One Direction posse for the second time this year. This time, the Directioners are holding the synth-pop group responsible for the removal of one of 1D’s videos from YouTube.
Some readers may be aware that Clubfeet first felt the brunt of One Directioner hate back in April after Aussie production firm Oh Yeah Wow pointed out the similarities between 1D’s video for ‘You & I’ and Clubfeet’s ‘Everything You Wanted’, which OYW produced.
“It seems that the chaps of One Direction have taken it upon themselves to regurgitate our original concept, as seen in our award-winning clip for Clubfeet’s Everything You Wanted,” wrote OYW at the time in an official statement addressing what they termed a “hijack”.
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Now, the UK boy-band’s clip has been removed from YouTube following an infringement claim and the group’s fans are directing their anger over the deletion towards Clubfeet, mobilising their troops with the hashtag #YouAndIBackToYoutube, despite the band taking no responsibility for the removal.
“Hey guys, sorry everyone is upset but we had nothing to do with the takedown of any video,” the band wrote on Twitter over the weekend. “Just saw the notice: Panther Music Group Ltd took down the video – nothing to do with us / our label… Pretty sure that’s a UK company.”
Meanwhile, Oh Yeah Wow director Darcy Prendergast has told Channel [V], “We’ve no association with Panther Media… Obviously we found it pretty hilarious when the director, Ben Winston, ripped off our Clubfeet clip in the first place, but we’d completely forgotten about that until a new wave of Directioner hate mail spilled into the Twitter feed.”
Oh Yeah Wow’s initial complaint was centred on the ‘You & I’ clip’s third act, which featured unique freeze-frame effects very similar to those used in the clip for ‘Everything You Wanted’. At the time, OYW claimed it was the latest in a string of plagiarism of their work that’s come from all over the globe.
Hey guys, sorry everyone is upset but we had nothing to do with the take down of any video
— Clubfeet (@helloclubfeet) December 19, 2014
Just saw the notice: Panther Music Group Ltd took down the video – nothing to do with us / our label… Pretty sure that's a UK company
— Clubfeet (@helloclubfeet) December 19, 2014
@helloclubfeet anyone can jump in a video, you didn't trademark jumping.
— chloebola (@TORTlLLA) December 19, 2014
@helloclubfeet YOU MESSED WITH 1D FANDOM, YOU ARE IN HUGE PROBLEMS!!!
— Mariana (@mari_caliani) December 19, 2014
@onedirection Why was the You and I video taken down I caNT EVEN THIS IS Not OKAY
— cailin (@brb_fangxrling) December 19, 2014
http://t.co/PsqWFo9qeB
NO
FUCKING
WAY
@helloclubfeet YOU ARE JEALOUS CAUSE NO ONE KNOWS WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE
— zaynmalik1D (@PaulaRiveraCar) December 19, 2014
@OhYeahWow WHO CARES IF THE YOU AND I MUSIC VIDEO *STOLE* YOUR IDEA??? THAT WAS ONE OF THE SONGS THAT SAVED MY LIFE…..
— Morgan Payne (@mofender_mo) December 19, 2014