Beat the Willie

I don’t watch television much.  Not as a matter of choice, since given the chance, I would definitely plant myself before all seven seasons of So You Think You Can Dance, move on to True Beauty to get some eye candy, and then maybe devour Got to Dance as dessert.  But being TV-deprived, it wasn’t a surprise that when my facebook friends started to buzz in indignation about Willing-Willie and his abominable treatment of a six-year old boy, I was completely clueless about what the fuss.

After a couple of days, there was still no letting up.  Newspapers began covering the story, and the accounts were full of recrimination (and apologies).  Yet more people were posting anti-Willie comments so not wanting to be left out, I had no choice but to scrounge around the tube and see whether a clip was still available.  When my screen started rolling the film of the boy, in tears while gyrating like a seasoned macho dancer in the most hard core gay bar, then came clarity. 

No wonder.  Of all the instances of tasteless and crude humor displayed by Willie Revillame, this must take the cake.  I can’t imagine how the adult that is Willie could let a minor continue dancing in that sexually suggestive way, especially when he was already in tears.  And not only allow him to grind, but also to continually cue him by feeding him music, keeping him on the stage for longer than he should have since he was so obviously getting laughs from the insensitive audience (and we just can’t let this great opportunity for ratings slip away, can we?)

I may be doing a bad job of describing this disgusting scene, so for those who can’t picture this, the videos are there on the tube.  That, plus more segments where Willie tries to defend himself, trots out the conscripted parents, and appeals to his fan base to understand why he did what he did.  (Watch and be horrified.)

Given the public outcry, the show and the station tried to do damage control.  And this was particularly odious, and all the more infuriating.  I particularly hate the defensive tone set in the network’s first published message, where a hundred excuses and one came popping out of their p.r. jester’s hat. Janjan didn’t want to show his ugly teeth, so he was so solemn.  He was scared of the huge basketball player, who had given him a menacing pat on the head.  He was with his aunt, an adult that had given her consent.  (This after she had swooned to groupie heaven, as she was able to hug Willie, her lifelong dreamboat.)And guess what, his parents were fine with it!  Therefore, considering all these, never mind the kid was in tears and in pain, it really is ok to treat him this way.  Never mind child abuse regulations, the show must definitely keep going on!

I am so relieved to find I am not alone in rejecting this.  I would’ve been so disappointed in humanity if they had let these vile explanations give slick-Willie a pass. Just watching the studio audience roar in laughter at Janjan is sickening enough.  I liken this situation to one where parents sell their children, whether to wanna-be parents or into prostitution.  Doesn’t matter if the original parents give their consent, that consent doesn’t necessarily cure the deed. (Right?)  Here, the aunt agreed to accept ten thousand big bucks so Janjan could dance and amuse an audience.  Not just dance, but macho dance. (One newspaper said it was a strip-tease, but thank goodness, no clothes were shorn in the performance.)  This for me is the essence of child exploitation, period.

With the threat of criminal prosecution from the Commission of Human Rights, ABC-5 went into plan B and announced that an internal commission had been formed to investigate these complaints.  (And this, after Willie again invited the boy, his parents and his aunt onto the show to let the world know they were really ok with profiting from their son’s body.)

 Boycotts of either the show or the channel are being called.  Will a boycott work if I join?  Not really, since my remote has never landed onto TV-5 but hey, all you readers might help bring the message home to the network executives if you just tuned out a bit.  It’s a marketplace of ideas out there, so maybe, we just might be able to convince the rest of the viewing public our values are superior.

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