One Direction member Harry Styles’ fan base may seem saturated with screaming pre-teens, but one unexpected die-hard fan is a Texas father who claims that Harry lights up his world like nobody else.
Robert Harper, 41, calls himself a ‘Daddy Directioner’ and was left devastated when he helped his 18-year-old daughter Bailey Darnell purchase Harry Styles concert tickets, but she neglected to snag a seat for him.
A distressed Bailey filmed her father, a serious and tattooed man, give a heartbroken reaction that sees him hang his head in his hands and throw his daughter a betrayed glare upon hearing the crushing news.
Harry heartache: Dad Robert Harper, 41, was devastated to learn that his daughter purchased Harry Styles concert tickets without him, after he let her skip school to do the deed
Distraught dad: His daughter Bailey, 18, took a video of his reaction that sees him switch from nonchalant to seething and angry with the news of her betrayal
Robert and his daughter share their One Direction fandom together and attended the British group’s Where We Are tour in San Antonio back in 2014. For the occasion Robert dressed to the nines in the band’s tour tee and held a giant sign that read: ‘I love you more than my daughter does,’ with a giant red arrow that pointed towards himself. Also on the poster was the hashtag #DaddyDirection.
The duo loved it so much they swore they’d see the group again.
Bailey however wasn’t able to get a seat for her father in the high pressure ticket purchase and filmed the moment she told him in a hilarious two-minute video clip that racked up over 97,000 views on YouTube.
The video sees her timidly approach her father who’s lying down comfortably using his phone when he receives the terrible news.
‘I have to tell you something. You have to promise that you’re not going to be mad. You know that concert in October?’ she prefaced her confession with.
‘Yeah. The one that you got us tickets for? The one that I let you skip school to get tickets for?’ he says in a warning voice before returning to his iPhone.
‘The thing is, I could only get one,’ Bailey confessed in shaky voice. And the dad suddenly looked away from his screen with bulging eyes.
‘Shut up. You better quit playing,’ he said incredulously.
After he realized his daughters message was no joke he began to fume and shook his head. In distress he later sunk his head into his hands.
‘I’m sorry I tried my best. There was only one they sold out so fast,’ Bailey justified.
After a minute he composed himself and then reprimanded his daughter for leaving him in the dust.
‘I let you skip school for that and you got one ticket?’ he asked.
‘I’m sorry, it was so hard! It was so hard to get tickets, they sold out so fast,’ she exclaimed and before she could finish he scoffed and rolled his eyes.
Die-hard fan: The duo saw Harry for the first time during One Directions 2014 Where Are We tour in Texas where he expressed his fandom with a T-shirt and hilarious sign (above)
Total fan-girl! Robert is pictured lying on a bed and stares adoringly at pillows and toys themed around his favorite boy band One Direction and claims he’s a bigger fan than his daughter
Smooches! Although Robert calls himself a Daddy Directioner is favorite is by far Harry Styles, who he hoped to see in concert in October before his daughter crushed him with the news
He’s got the X-Factor: Bailey shared another video on her YouTube channel that sees her dad fan-girl after seeing Harry Styles in person during a concert
‘Well you better do something he warned,’ and bought his hand under his chin for a pensive glare.
Feeling remorse, Bailey fought off giggles and timidly asked him, ‘You gonna go without me?’
And with a scoff he fires back, ‘I ain’t letting you go without me! How’s that fair you get to see Harry and I don’t?’
‘Why do you want to see him so much,’ she asked, averting his question.
‘Because,’ he childish responded and threw his phone down in a fit.
‘You just ruined my night! I don’t want to talk to you no more. Just leave me alone,’ he exclaimed and sunk his forehead back into his hands.
But she kept poking and asked why he wanted to see Harry so badly.
After a long silence he finally admits his truth.
‘Because I’m his biggest fan,’ he confessed with a low tremble and lifted his head to give the camera one last crestfallen look.
The video ended with Robert’s devastated face, and is just one of the many One Direction reactions her father has on Bailey’s YouTube channel. Her page features other episodes that offer a peek into the father’s obsession with the boy-band and sees hilarious reactions to Zayn’s band break-up and a rehash of the dad’s first One Direction concert.