One direction fans empty out bank accounts in online push to purchase the band
One Direction fans have started a GoFundMe page in order to raise enough money to purchase the band from its management and make it a fan-owned co-operative.
The push comes just two days after band member Zayn Malik announced his departure from the group, devastating fans around the globe.
The page’s goal is to raise $88m and raised almost $2000 in just one day.
“This is all the money I have left in my back account. I need this to happen,” wrote one fan on the page.
The sentiment wasn’t an usual one, as many donors claimed to have emptied out their bank accounts for the effort.
“I just want the boys to know that if they don’t want us to do this, then that’s fine. We’ll just give it to charity. But we do care for them and if they want to follow me that’s cool too,” the founder of the page, a girl named Katie from Elmira, NY, told Noisey. “And Zayn—I’m not sure exactly what is going on, but if it was actually your decision to leave then I 100 percent respect it as it’s your mental health and your mental well-being.”
While the goal may seem a bit lofty to some, it’s not entirely out of reach. The band currently has 23 million Twitter followers. If each of those followers donated four dollars, enough money would be raised to officially make One Direction a public commodity.