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Willing Willie episode sparks criticisms ranging from "poor taste" to "child abuse"

by Mark Angelo Ching posted on March 28, 2011  STATS: 257892 Views | 367 Comments

 

Willie Revillame interviews a six-year-old contestant during the March 12 episode of Willing Willie. This particular segment of the TV5 variety primetime program prompted varied reactions from viewers who perceived it as no less than "child abuse."

Photo By: Screen grab from YouTube

A live episode of TV5's Willing Willie has sparked outrage and re-ignited a hate campaign against the program's host, Willie Revillame.

The March 12 episode of the primetime variety and game show featured a six-year-old boy performing a sexy dance multiple times, to the amusement of the studio audience. (CLICK HERE to watch the video.)

In Willie's words, the kid is acting like a "macho dancer"—or in local parlance, a male prostitute.

The name of the kid is Jan-Jan. His aunt, Jocelyn, accompanied him to Willing Willie's Novaliches studio.

This segment of the episode has been uploaded on YouTube, a video-sharing website, where it attracted a number of viewers. At press time, the video has been viewed 291,889 times.

Many video viewers have posted comments. The majority have commented that the segment was "done in poor taste." A number of others have gone so far as to call it "child abuse." There have been many posts of hurtful name-calling. The viewers who placed blame zeroed in on Willie and the boy's parents.

A few entertainment personalities have already weighed in with their opinions—including Lea Salonga, Jim Paredes, Bianca Gonzales, and Kat de Castro. All of them have said that the incident is nothing short of "child abuse."

TALENT PORTION. Willing Willie is a primetime variety and game show on TV5, aired Mondays to Saturdays. It carries a number of games that aims to amuse the audience and to send them home with attractive amounts of cash.

The main segment is called "Wiltime Bigtime." It pits six contestants with each other, each fitting a chosen theme for the day. The themes determine the set of contestants for the day, and can range from housewives to kids to soldiers to jobless men.

"Wiltime Bigtime" has two rounds: the elimination round "Kantanong" and the jackpot round "Spin a Wil."

Willie introduces the contestants one-by-one during "Kantanong." He also interviews all of them, with the end goal of having them reveal the story of their lives. The contestants are quite willing to share a great deal, too.

The contestants are also asked to show off a talent, which will earn them a cash reward. Willie decides how much money he will give a contestant, depending on the talent shown, crowd approval, and the host's own taste. Talents to be demonstrated can be anything: singing, dancing, acting, or even reciting a poem.

WILTIME BIGTIME. A boy called Jan-Jan was one of the contestants in the March 12 edition of "Wiltime Bigtime." All of the six contestants were children.

[Under this subhead, PEP summarizes the contents of the video from YouTube. The ten-minute video has been edited to include only segments featuring Jan-Jan.]

The small boy carried a blank face when he was called to the microphone. This prompted Willie to call Bonel Balingit, a formal basketball player, from the audience. The tall Bonel then stood beside the short Jan-Jan while Willie said, "Ano Jan? Suntukan, gusto mo? Parang naghahamon ka ng away!"

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367 Comments

  • 327  arthur_mcarthur

    03/30/2011 | 05:16 PM
    usbre, walang nagsasabi na tama yung ginawa ng Goin Bulilit.. at sorry ka di ko napanood yun.. kaya nga eh di gumawa ka ng thread na ikondena mo ang palabas ng goin bulilit. pero ano ba ang issue rito at ang pinaguusapan di ba yung nangyari kay willie. pero ang ginawa sa Willing willie ay harapang kaga.gu.han. sa tingin mo ba tama ba yung mga pinagsasabi nya sa bata at pinagagawa sa bata? sana mangyari din sa anak mo para marealize mo kung ano ang sinusuportahan mo.
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  • 326  indiahenretta

    03/30/2011 | 05:16 PM
    Mr. Revillame, here you go again. Iyon mga loyal fans mo gusto gusto for sure na pinag lalaruan ninyo iyon si Jan Jan. I am sure ok lang iyon sa pamilya ni Jan Jan, dahil mahirap sila, so mayroon ba silang CHOICE? Walang karapatan ang mga mahihirap kahit anong gawain sa kanila. I hope very HAPPY ka Mr. Revillame, dahil nag rate na naman iyon show mo.
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  • 325  indiahenretta

    03/30/2011 | 05:04 PM
    Ano na naman ang PALUSOT or EXCUSE? Kasi kasalan ng mga magulang or parents nung bata, maybe dahil mahirap sila, pero hindi ibig sabihin na pwede mo silang gawain na parang mga laruan or clowns. MONEY and POWER CAN BUY ANYTHING AND ANYONE!
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  • 324  usbfre07

    03/30/2011 | 12:57 PM
    joey023, nakita mo na ba ang video sa Utube na GOIN BULILIT SINGLE LADIES? talaga lang ha na may editing... kasi sa pag giling ni Nash na pina suot pa ng black leotard ay daig pa ang macho dancer... so yung kay Nash acceptable tapos yung kay Janjan hindi? ikaw nga ang taong dapat gawing definition ng HYPOCRITE!
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  • 323  joey_023

    03/30/2011 | 12:54 PM
    at wag kayo manisi ng ibang tao,,,whatever,,,c willie din nmn gumgawa ng sarili nyang hukay sya ang gumwa ng katarantaduhan na pinapkita p nya sa maraming tao,,,irresponsable at user syang tao...
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  • 322  joey_023

    03/30/2011 | 12:41 PM
    wee...usbfre07...wag mong ilihis un issue,,,at ano kinalaman ng Going Bulilit sa issue ni willie,,,un going bulilit bago ipalabas ay may mga editing na ginawa,,, eh isa k rin pala sa konsentidor,,,sana di mangyari sa anak mo o isa sa mga kamag anak mo,,,para malaman mo un feeling kung paano kutyain at pagtawanin... anyway aabangan k namin sa show ni willie,,,sumayaw kng nkabrief o kaya nkapanty... UTAK BIHON!!!no wonder kgaya k rin ni willi magisip..
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  • 321  franzky73

    03/30/2011 | 11:19 AM
    Willie Revillame still does not get it. He still think there's nothing wrong on what happened on that episode involving a six year old boy. This man does not have sensitivity at all, encouraging that boy that what he's doing is okay even comparing to burlesk queen selling their body because of poverty. This man is sick as well as the people on that studio most especially the parents. Willie is a disgrace in Philippine television. Sana magsalita sila Dolphy, Sharon, vilma, Susan roces, aga muhlach and all the so called wall of the industry. They need to teach this man a lesson. What a shame! 
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  • 320  usbfre07

    03/30/2011 | 11:06 AM
    arthur.mcarthur, so ibig mong sabihin ang pagsayaw ni janjan depicting as macho dancer ay dapat nating punahin peru ang pagsayaw Nash sa video na yun sa GOIN BULILIT SINGLE LADIES na na pina suot pa ng black leotard ay sa tingin mo tama? ganyang bang klaseng palabas ng GOING BULILIT ay okay ipakita sa mga anak mo? if that is not hypocrite, i dont know what is!
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  • 319  lanieguillen

    03/30/2011 | 11:04 AM
    Karma na yan kay Wyllie. akala niya kasi eh,untouchable siya. Buti nga sa kanya... talaga namang nang eexploit siya ng mga vulnerable na mga tao lalo na ang mga mahihirap. Umpisa pa lang yan... maraming pang darating hanggang masara na ang programa niya. At hindi ang ABS ang nagpasara kundi ang paggiging mangagamit niya ng mga mahihirap. wla ng sisihin sa pangyayari kundi siya lamang... bow...
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  • 318  arthur_mcarthur

    03/30/2011 | 10:26 AM
    hoy usbfre07 .,, isa kang malaking tukmol.. wag mong ilihis ang issue rito.. siguro kung yan ay katanggap tanggap sayo sa amin eh hindi.. at kung tumututol kami kay willie ay di dahil ipokrito kami. naninidigan lang kami kung alin ang tama at ang mali ay itama. kung may problema ka sa goin bulilit hindi related yun dito. maligo ka at ng mabawsan ang kahibangan mo.
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  • 317  arthur_mcarthur

    03/30/2011 | 10:21 AM
    sa lahat ng kumakampi kay willie. walang haters rito at di kami namemersonal kay willie. pakilalam ba namin kay willie.. ang issue rito ang mga kataran..duhan na pinaggagawa nya na nakakaapekto sa mamayang pilipino.. kaya yung mga nagtatanggol kay willie . pakisabi nga sa akin kung tama lang ang mga pinagggawa ni willie sa tv?
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  • 316  usbfre07

    03/30/2011 | 09:58 AM
    sabi nga ng iba si Willie na raw ang pinaka masamang tao dahil sa nangyaring pagsayaw ng isang bata sa kanyang programa depicting as macho dancer na mabilis na pinagpiyestahan ng mga Willie haters...ironically, sa Utube video na GOIN BULILIT SINGLE LADIES dated 2009, wala man lang ni isa sa mga taong concern ngayon sa welfare ni Janjan ang pumuna sa naturang video...therefore, i can safely say that these people are just using this poor little kid to attack Willie and his tv show...
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  • 315  marianlabandera

    03/30/2011 | 08:08 AM
    panoorin sa youtube ang bagong banat na video ni even demata vs willie revillame. search sa youtube, jan-jan child abuse ni willie revillame maligayang pagbabalik, even demata! mabuhay ka!
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  • 314  bossing_ako

    03/30/2011 | 08:04 AM
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  • 313  samantha0808

    03/30/2011 | 08:02 AM
    after watching the episode..i can say that willie and the staff exploited the child ..even the audience who are laughing kainis with matching comment of willie on the side..he is not a good host ever..
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  • 312  lilac0808

    03/30/2011 | 07:48 AM
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  • 311  agukoy

    03/30/2011 | 07:40 AM
    the issue of child abuse is not the macho dancing per se but the humiliation instigated by Willie. As a host and producer he has the responsibility. Ouh...enough of this...he was an irresponsible parent to his child with Liz anyway. Nabanggit dati sa kaso nila ng ex wife nya na he can't stand his child's crying...he would yell. Kaya nga kasama sa kasunduan na Willie is not allowed to see his son with Liz Almoro.
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  • 310  lilac0808

    03/30/2011 | 07:12 AM
    Noong issue ng copyright ang dami din abogado dito na matatalino... ang daming opinion na talagang pinagdidiinan na may mali sa ginawa ni Willie, asan ngayon iyong pinaglalaban na mali si Willie??? hehehe kaya tumigil na kayo kasi mapapahiya na naman iyong katalinuhan niyo.. hak hak!
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  • 309  lilac0808

    03/30/2011 | 07:05 AM
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  • 308  colmenares

    03/30/2011 | 06:51 AM
    willie is now tv5's problem. they can have him along with the head aches and nega publicity. i hope lang that when you guys say theres nothing wrong with that dance, eh that you can say the same thing kung anak na ninyo ang gumigiling. look at that video again and look at that boys eyes. he wasnt happy at all. i have nothing againts willie, but it seems to me he doesnt know any boundaries. its bad enough he cannot respect the validity of contracts walang isang salit. he also has no morals by allowing that kid as young as 6, dance as a matcho dancer and to add insult to the injury asked the kid to repeat the dance at least 3 times. now tell me would you be happy if your son was in the kids shoes? kung sagot mo yes, then you shouldnt be parents
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