Some celebrities, led by actress Rita Avila, reacted to presidential candidate and Vice President Leni Robredo’s interview with talk show host Boy Abunda.
Avila aired her displeasure on her social media account over Abunda’s “constant interruptions”, preventing the Vice President from expounding her answers during the interview.
“Mr. Boy Abunda. I love you but I feel something heavy while you are talking to VP Leni. You keep on cutting her and you act like you are against what she is saying. Mas respectful at decent ka kila Sen. Ping and BBM. Sorry friend, I am not the only one who felt this,” Avila said on Instagram.
“WHY?!!! Parang ayaw mo na pasagutin. Parang ayaw mo sha mag-expound. Ang sad Boy. Pinagtanggol pa kita na professional ka and respectful sa sinumang guest mo,” she added.
Actress Nikki Valdez also aired the same sentiment over Abunda’s constant disruption of Robredo while she was explaining her answers over important issues.
“Ang dami gusto sabihin ni VP… Hindi siya natatapos!!! Tito Boy, patapusin niyo naman,” said Valdez.
Jim Paredes of Apo Hiking Society also called out Abunda for interrupting Robredo while she was answering, far from his “soft” treatment of previous guest Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
“LENI was great. Boy Abunda was wanting. Always interrupting. Too soft kay Bleng2, practically feeding him,” he said.
“For the times I have interrupted women while speaking, I apologize. Seeing Boy Abunda’s interview tonight was my magic mirror moment in realizing how offensive and infuriating mansplaining is. Let’s do better, men. You too, Boy,” actor Gabe Mercado said on Twitter.
“For the record, I do not think Boy Abunda was biased at all against the VP. I do think he was biased for taking the spotlight and hearing himself. That’s what male privilege is about. Men interrupting and feeling entitled to the spotlight at the expense of women,” Mercado said in a separate tweet.
Veteran actor Edu Manzano, for his part, congratulated the Vice President for a job well done during her interview with Abunda.
“Leni deserves a lot more credit… Good job!” Manzano said on Twitter.
Hashtags such as #LetLeniSpeak and #AbundaBiased became trending topics on Twitter due to Abunda’s numerous interruptions while Robredo was explaining her answers.
#LeniAngatSaLahat also became the No. 1 worldwide trending topic on Twitter with more than 166,000 tweets during Robredo’s interview.