Vice Ganda Retracts Apology For “Expecially For You” Contestant

Vice: “I do not need to apologize for what I did”

Vice Ganda says she is taking back the initial apology she issued for a contestant in “It’s Showtime” segment, “Expecially For You.”

Vice’s decision to retract her initial statement followed after a thorough review of the incident together with the program’s production, psychological team, and the involved searchee and searcher. 

As it is found, Christine—who stood as a searcher for the May 31, 2024 episode–actually felt uncomfortable with the advances made by a searchee Axel Cruz. 

On June 4, 2024 episode of “It’s Showtime,” Vice finally made the decision to rectify her first statement, standing on her belief that it was only right for her and the rest of the “It’s Showtime” host to call out the gesture. 

She says, “Ang pag-call out namin ay base sa aming reaksyon—base sa nakita namin. So, I said I will say an apology ngunit bago ko po gawin yun dito sa ‘Showtime’ ay nagusap-usap kami ng staff ng ‘Showtime,’ ng aming management, ng aming unit head, mga producers at kaming mga hosts.

“Pinag-aralan ho namin ang mga pangyayari kasama na rin ang mga psychologists ng ‘Showtime’ na nakiki-coordinate din sa lahat ng searchees at searchers namin sa ‘Expecially For You.’”

Vice then points out that a conversation with Axel and Christine had bred out a different result—a case that Vice has not elaborated any further other than saying it actually made Christine uncomfortable. 

“At nakausap kong muli si Axel at si Christine, at dahil po dun, gusto ko pong sabihin na binabawi ko yung tinweet ko na I will say an apology because I do not need to apologize for what I did,” she asserts. 

“Ito po ang aking paniniwala at paniniwala din namin na hindi namin kinakailangang mag-apologize because what we did was right. 

“Again, nakausap ko sila at si Christine, base dun sa kanyang TikTok video, sinabi niyang hindi siya na-off at it was okay. Pero nung nakausap namin siya ulit, kahapon, nakausap siya ng staff, mga producers at ng psychologists, sinabi niyang talaga namang na-off siya.

“Talagang na-off siya at meron siyang naramdaman na hindi siya komportable sa ginawa ng searchee. Meron siyang dahilan kung bakit niya sinabi yun sa TikTok na hindi na rin ho namin ishe-share.

“Nirerespeto namin ang dahilan ni Christine kung bakit sinabi niya yun na hindi siya na-off, when in reality, na-off talaga siya.” 

The incident points to a moment when Axel leaned in for a “nakaw na halik” from Christine, which prompted Vice and some “It’s Showtime” hosts to call him out on live television. 

Christine followed up on the issue through a TikTok video, saying that she did not feel violated at all. Meanwhile, Axel aired the same sentiment in a separate video, saying that it’s more of an act of comfort than an outright sexual advance. 

READ ALSO: Vice Ganda Apologizes To “Expecially For You” Contestant: “Mali Ang Reaction Ko”

Vice Ganda and her reaction to the incident 

Vice and some of the “It’s Showtime” hosts have made quite a divide on the internet—with one side saying that it was only right for the team to call out the act. Meanwhile, there are those who believe that Vice could have gone through it in a more diplomatic way. 

During the episode, Vice can be heard saying, “Hoy! Hindi pwede yun! Alam mo bang pwede kang mademanda sa ginagawa mo? You don’t do that. Hindi ka pwedeng nagnanakaw ng halik.” Vice added a few more words, which goes, “Huwag ganun ha, that’s bad. Dun ka, sasaktan kita.” 

Banner Art Paulo Correa