Hours later, Mr Ford went back on Twitter to retweet a message from The Voice's official account, saying:
"Perhaps it was editing but last night’s emotion packed moment by The Koi Boys was, at best, flawed. They were NOT in Christchurch about to go on stage & sing ‘What A Wonderful World’ when attacks happened as claimed. Producers & group need to clarify this as its look exploitative."
One user reprimanded Mr Ford for his words, writing: "You would want to be careful with this."
But he didn't stop there, tweeting an update earlier today.
"So quick update. [Channel] 9 statement says they were on a ship but denied disembarkation. Oddly no cruise ships were listed to be in Christchurch on that exact day. Still asking more questions."
Clarifying his words, Mr Ford added: "Well to be very clear I’m not suggesting the band members have done or said anything deceptive...but the editing process may have created a false impression."
Whether the band was just talking about being in New Zealand, or in local waters, at the time of the tragedy remains unclear. There is no suggestion the band were being deliberately deceptive about either their proximity to the incident, or about their obviously genuine feelings of distress over the atrocity.
Channel Nine issued the following statement:
'We have spoken to The Koi Boys, they were featured performers on a cruise ship that docked in Christchurch on 15th March 2019, the day of the terrorist shootings, they were unable to leave the ship for security reasons (nor were any passengers).
'That evening, having been distressed by the horrific event, they performed “What A Wonderful World” as part of their planned set, which was obviously a highly emotional experience for them and everyone grieving.'
WATCH the emotional performance here: