TV show pulled in furore over crying boy
Source: Agencies |
April 12, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Philippines' most popular TV game show was pulled off the air yesterday amid a public uproar over the host letting a crying 6-year-old boy mimic a striptease dancer.
"Willing Willie" host Willie Revillame said he was taking two weeks' leave after which he will announce if he'll return to television.
Angry viewers and commentators have launched a campaign on social-networking sites to remove Revillame from the show, which offers cash prizes for singing, dancing, storytelling and playing games. They say Revillame showed poor taste and mocked his mostly impoverished viewers by allowing the crying boy to gyrate as a striptease dancer. The boy was a contestant and earned 10,000 pesos (US$230) for his dance.
The outcry led major sponsors to pull out. The March 12 episode also has prompted soul-searching discussions about the quality of TV entertainment in the Philippines.
TV5 network said it wants to improve the program and work with television and advertising industry stakeholders on guidelines for the participation of children in all game and reality TV shows.
Philippine-born theater actress Monique Wilson, in a widely circulated email carried by local media, argued that such TV shows "dumb down audiences (and) disempower them by creating a mendicant society with game shows that promise 'quick money.'"
It was not clear if Revillame and TV5 will face charges. The government's Commission on Human Rights and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board said they were investigating.
Revillame has apologized but said his detractors had mounted a campaign "until they bury me alive." He accused his former network and competitor ABS-CBN of trying to destroy his career.
"Willing Willie" host Willie Revillame said he was taking two weeks' leave after which he will announce if he'll return to television.
Angry viewers and commentators have launched a campaign on social-networking sites to remove Revillame from the show, which offers cash prizes for singing, dancing, storytelling and playing games. They say Revillame showed poor taste and mocked his mostly impoverished viewers by allowing the crying boy to gyrate as a striptease dancer. The boy was a contestant and earned 10,000 pesos (US$230) for his dance.
The outcry led major sponsors to pull out. The March 12 episode also has prompted soul-searching discussions about the quality of TV entertainment in the Philippines.
TV5 network said it wants to improve the program and work with television and advertising industry stakeholders on guidelines for the participation of children in all game and reality TV shows.
Philippine-born theater actress Monique Wilson, in a widely circulated email carried by local media, argued that such TV shows "dumb down audiences (and) disempower them by creating a mendicant society with game shows that promise 'quick money.'"
It was not clear if Revillame and TV5 will face charges. The government's Commission on Human Rights and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board said they were investigating.
Revillame has apologized but said his detractors had mounted a campaign "until they bury me alive." He accused his former network and competitor ABS-CBN of trying to destroy his career.
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