From a running joke to a heartfelt tribute.
Anne Curtis electrified It's Showtime on Saturday, February 24, 2024, with a belated birthday celebration performance made more meaningful by the presence of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the studio.
Read: Anne Curtis stuns in sexy, unfiltered photos to mark birthday
The actress-host, who turned 39 last February 17, performed a series of Taylor Swift songs—“Ready for It,” “Cruel Summer,” “Bejeweled,” “Enchanted” and “Shake It Off”— for her production number.
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It appeared that Anne was still recovering from the excitement of witnessing the award-winning American singer-songwriter live in concert in Melbourne, Australia, the previous week.
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Anne, who is Filipino-Australian, celebrated her birthday in Australia and treated herself to a front-row seat at Taylor's The Eras Tour.
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TRENDING JOKE
Anne's It's Showtime performance was greeted with cheers by the studio audience, including a handful of vacationing OFWs from various countries like Spain, Thailand, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, among others.
Her production number came with several outfit changes, including a white polo shirt with prints of some of her memorable and funny lines like "Pancit," "Lots of cheese," "Sinaag," "Capsicum," and "Birthday ko?"
Anne said after her performance, "Ang kasama natin today at sobra kong na-appreciate ay ang ating mga minamahal na OFWs. Napakadami nila na talagang nagbigay ng time to celebrate with me sa birthday ko dito sa [It's] Showtime."
The connection of Anne's birthday to Filipino expatriates stemmed from a banter between Anne and fellow It's Showtime host Vice Ganda during the show's Tawag ng Tanghalan segment six years ago.
Read: Vice Ganda to Ion Perez: “Our love is not just a story. It’s a statement.”
The hilarious exchange, which had gone viral, began when Vice brought up the struggles and sacrifices of OFWs who often miss out on special occasions, including birthdays, with their loved ones.
Anne misinterpreted Vice's remark, thinking that OFWs feel sad about not being able to return to the country during the actress-TV host's birthday.
"Birthday ko?" she asked.
But after realizing her blunder, Vice asked, "Sa palagay mo, bakit mami-miss ng OFWs yung birthday mo?"
PAYING HOMAGE TO OFWs
Filipino viewers residing abroad who saw the clip of Vice and Anne's banter gamely went along with it, saying that Anne's birthday was the reason they're coming home to the Philippines for vacation.
"At ang mga OFW, nagpo-post ng mga boarding pass nila na pauwi para sa birthday ko," beamed Anne.
Read: VIP lounge for OFWs in NAIA Terminal 1 now open
"So, I thought It would be nice to invite them here to It's Showtime to celebrate with me."
The funny incident, said Anne, added meaning to her birthday and became a reason for her to celebrate the occasion with the public.
Anne went on to acknowledge the OFWs and expressed gratitude for celebrating her special day.
Read: Jealous husband rips apart OFW wife’s passport and plane ticket at NAIA
"I know na parang it’s a joke but I hope that during times that you guys feel sad kasi nami-miss niyo ang pamilya [ninyo]."
Continued Anne, "I’m able to bring you happiness dahil sa joke na iyon pag birthday ko. I just hope na kahit konti, mapatawa ko kayo.
"Maraming-maraming salamat at you guys made it to my birthday!"
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