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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: 257823 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

  • 47  rotoscaper

    03/28/2011 | 08:20 PM
    good God. dati ang pinaka-overused and misunderstood na phrase dito, e yung Freedom of Expression. Unfortunately isinama na din ang Child Abuse.hay, I wish people would read the whole article... all y'all hafta do is click next, switch brain to ON then read.. it's really effin simple...
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  • 46  chikorita_pikachu

    03/28/2011 | 08:16 PM
    kwawa nmn yung bata, natulo pa luha nya while sumasayaw, tapos chini cheer pa ng mga audience at ni willie.. b4stos tlga ng taong to, walang m00doo..
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  • 45  redsand

    03/28/2011 | 08:16 PM
    You have never learned your lessons Will... never!
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  • 44  rotoscaper

    03/28/2011 | 08:15 PM
    lol at the people blaming willie. dont hate the playah. hate the game! the boy's parents are still losers though.
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  • 43  babyshy

    03/28/2011 | 08:15 PM
    both willie and the child's parents should be accountable for this incident.
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  • 42  frolicoholic

    03/28/2011 | 08:15 PM
    to 22 yeah.. yun na nga ang point.. di alam ng bata ang ginagawa nya kasi BATA sya.. pero siguro naman hindi bata si Willie nu? alam nya na kalaswaan ang ginagawa ng bata at pinaulit ulit pa nya ng ilang beses! take note! ilang beses! at sinabi pa nya na hangang-hanga sya sa bata sa ginawa ng bata ha...
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  • 41  redsand

    03/28/2011 | 08:14 PM
    Opppps! Willy DID it again! This is really absurd...watching this 6 yo boy being abused is a big NO-NO. What? dahil lang sa pera? My Goodness...
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  • 40  misstoe

    03/28/2011 | 08:11 PM
    Good luck TV5, sinalo niyo kasi ang headache ng ABS-CBN..sometimes, you have to decide what's more important, money or morality...
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  • 39  frolicoholic

    03/28/2011 | 08:11 PM
    to 35 napanood ko... and since nililinis ng Willing Willie ang pangalan nila, malamang they alreaDY did measures to ensure na malinis nga name nila...
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  • 38  kapusoakotalaga

    03/28/2011 | 08:10 PM
    okay lang sana kung minsan lang pinagawa sa bata, okay lang talent nya un.. kaso PINAULIT ULIT ULIT ULIT... un ang hindi na maganda eh... nakaka awa ung BATA!
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  • 37  frolicoholic

    03/28/2011 | 08:08 PM
    to 31 respectful si willie? pinagtawanan nga nya yung bata nung sinabi ng bata na may parlor tatay nya.. at sinabi nya na ganun na kahirap ang buhay ng bata kaya nagma-macho dancer... at pinasayaw nya ng paulit-ulit ang bata kahit na umiiyak na ang bata.. is that your definition of respect?
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  • 36  thegoodlife

    03/28/2011 | 08:07 PM
    To 33 you should have watched the show kanina. The kid was asked kung baket siya umiiyak nun. And he said natakot sya kay Balinggit.Galing sa bata ang sagot.
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  • 35  sasha19

    03/28/2011 | 08:07 PM
    e yung mga babaeng sumasayaw na kita na mga kuyukot at daig pa mga sawa kung gumiling..hindi ba dapat i censor din ng MTRCB yun..aba napapanuod din ng mga bata yan pag tanghali..nakkapagisip din ang mga kalalakihan ng masama kung napapanuod nila yang mga yan. i dont think this dancers na may tamang pagiisip are setting a good example or uplifting the standard of moral values so to speak.
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  • 34  frolicoholic

    03/28/2011 | 08:03 PM
    to 27 takot kay balingit? hindi naman ata... can't you see the sadness in the kid's eyes? he was forced to do that... at pinagtawanan sya ni willie sa simula pa lang nung sinabi ng bata na may parlor tatay nya... ikaw nga pagtawanan parents mo, how would u feel?
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  • 33  macorpin

    03/28/2011 | 08:03 PM
    scripted na ang explanation ng parents...kawawa talaga ang bata...dswd has spoken...abused nga ang bata...willie has once again exposed his natural tendencies...lumalabas talaga kung ano ang tunay na ugali...
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  • 32  seasons

    03/28/2011 | 08:02 PM
    ive watched the video carefully..ridiculously too far from the context of child abuse!! if ever merong pwedeng absweltuhan, siguro yung parents nya but not willie. superr OA na naman ang mga pinoys dito. this is our country..mahilig sa show. Willie did his job lang naman, he was nice and respectful din..some jokes of course wt no malice. the boy also was trying to complete his assignment from the parents. sa tingin ko, na touched yung bata sa magnitude ng audience and the big money he will be getting....parang nahihiya rin sya. Leave that boy in peace. He earned his money in a big show with big money for his family and mother who just gave birth.... and he knew he did it for a show. sayang at hindi na lang sya nag michael jackson dance para walang masamang interpretasyon. tsktsk
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  • 31  californiastar5

    03/28/2011 | 07:53 PM
    Tamang tama paglaki nya sa gay bar na direcho niyan kasi bata pa lang dun na sinanay ng nga nakapaligid sa kanya. At sa pagbinata niya di na sya magtataka kung bakit mababa tingin sa kanya dahil mapapanood niya sa you tube ang sarili niya. Kawawang bata.
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  • 30  shoeboy

    03/28/2011 | 07:50 PM
    Let's set aside all intentions of the parents, guardians, and the show, and focus on the captured moment alone. A six-year old boy was shown dancing maliciously with tears in his eyes, hundreds of audience members cheering him on... anyone sensible has to agree it's a very disturbing image that reflects on the social values of the show's demographics.
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  • 29  deevaq

    03/28/2011 | 07:47 PM
    ang daming pinapakalat ng ABS...
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  • 28  thegoodlife

    03/28/2011 | 07:45 PM
    The family already explained the whole thing. Talent nung bata yun. And the kid loves dancing. Para sa mga nagiisip ng kung ano-ano kayo ang bastos at madumi ang utak at isip. For the kid happiness nya yung sumayaw. Umiiyak yung bata kasi natakot siya kay Balinggit.
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