Bailey Sherlock and Lucy Robertson want everyone to know that their parents are proud of them.
The Palmerston North friends are riding a wave of online ribbing after being forced to turn their concert T-shirts inside out by Vector Arena security guards before Justin Bieber’s only New Zealand performance last weekend.
The offending T-shirts were hand-painted before the Auckland show by the two 18-year-old Palmerston North Girls’ High School graduates.
The statement they chose for the front – “Justin, I’m cheaper than a prostitute” – caused the angst.
It was a play on recent rumours that the teen singer had paid for a Brazilian sex worker while on his current world tour, rather than a genuine proposition for him, Sherlock said.
“We didn’t think he would see it or anything. It started out as a bit of a laugh, we were like why not, we can only get away with it now.
“The hardcore Beliebers didn’t seem very happy about it – they were giving us a lot of rude stares.”
Bieber’s management team took photos of the women and then they were approached by a guard telling them to come with him.
A female guard took over, escorting them to the bathrooms where they had to turn the T-shirts inside out so they would not offend younger concert-goers, Sherlock said.
“There has been a bit of talk about whether the treatment we got was appropriate given the sort of acts they let into Vector,” Robertson said.
“I think it was fair enough really,” Miss Sherlock said.
“A lot of the older people were loving it but it was a bit awkward with the 8-year-olds and their mums.
“We were covering the shirts up when we were walking past them.
“What was funny was that you could read them from inside out anyway.”
On Sunday night a photo of the two at the concert went viral on social media and Robertson’s news feed “went mental”, with a mixed response. “There are some people with no sense of humour at all but my parents find it hilarious,” Robertson said. “Mum and Dad are actually pretty proud.”
The pair have already had friends asking how to make a T-shirt to get noticed at Vector when Taylor Swift comes to town.
They are happy to be style guides, but have no plans to make loud concert T-shirts their trademark.
“We both love going to concerts and the ones that are coming up are pretty good,” Robertson said.
“We actually want to be able to get into them.”
As for Bieber – they hope the publicity, including radio and newspaper interviews – has meant that he’s seen their photo.
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