The Flipcritic

I do not know the man, but if I were in Piolo Pascual’s shoes, I’d be shaking my head in disgust and disbelief. Here is one of our most talented actors, a man who has to my mind never given a bad performance and never caused controversy over a personal stance. He works hard, keeps a lower profile than his attention-seeking contemporaries, and does his best to project an upstanding profile.

And what does he get in return? A blatant insinuation of what his sex life must be like.

If you haven’t been glancing over the local entertainment news lately (I don’t have that luxury), you might have missed the news of a certain GMA7 showbiz program airing two men having sex and suggesting that Piolo Pascual may have been one them. ABS-CBN is of course crying foul, and as of a few days ago, Mr. Pascual denied the program’s allegations.

Which brings me to my next question, how is this matter newsworthy? Most Filipinos (and don’t deny it) have a retarded understanding of sexuality, but does this justify it being covered in such a brazenly despicable manner? Does the audience’s hunger for this filth excuse the media from sating it?

Butch Francisco of The Philippine Star, who is one of the hosts of the GMA show in question, claims that his trusted friend believes that the showing of the video was done responsibly. So let me get this straight. Showing an edited sex video, insinuating that a talented and respected actor, practices a frowned upon lifestyle, for ratings, is responsible programming? I’d like to see any parent teach that to their kids.

Let’s get this straight. Implying that Piolo Pascual is gay is not newsworthy. Heck, it’s not news period. We can debate about what the definition of news is ‘til hell freezes over, but one thing we can all agree on is that it is relevant. Is this relevant? There are countless homosexual people in countless areas of entertainment. Do you care if the actor behind Gandalf of THE LORD OF THE RINGS is gay? Do you care if the voice behind Dory of FINDING NEMO is a lesbian? Michael Jackson’s trial is relevant because he might or might not have committed a horrific act on children. How does Piolo Pascual’s sexual preference affect us?

Whoever let that tape get on national TV should be barred from practicing his profession. But of course that would get a lot of people fired now wouldn’t it? Isn’t it also intriguing how the MTRCB, which loves to cut as many sex scenes out of foreign films as it can, but none out of our local “sexy” ones, won’t lift a finger to defend a person’s honor. Ponder all you like whether GMA7 is trying to damage ABS-CBN's star by starting a mudslinging war (isn’t it obvious?), both networks have been prying into the lives of stars long before Mr. Pascual became one. This isn’t the first time sex videos have been used to gain those Nielsen points.

Consider Mahal, Troy Montero, Ethel Booba, Cedric Carreon, Sunshine Cruz, etc. They’ve been exposed to unnatural levels of privacy invasion, even by Hollywood’s standards. Some people will say that their being celebrities warrants some intrusion, and maybe rightfully so. Some of them might be intensely dislikable, but do we realize that these people are some person’s son, daughter, sister, brother, father, mother, wife, husband, friend, or lover? Does renown preclude dignity?

I wish Mr. Pascual hadn’t issued a statement on his sexual preference. The media has no right to use any hint of his lifestyle for public consumption or entertainment. And he has no obligation to reveal it. He could be asexual for all I care, but I do lament his predicament as I do any human being. I can’t say the same for his industry.

Posted by FLIPCRITIC at April 12, 2005 11:37 PM