MANILA, Philippines – To preface this story, let it be clear: being gay is not a deficiency in any way and calling someone "gay" or "bakla" as an insult is something we should all leave in the past because, come on, it's 2018.
Young singers Darren Espanto and Juan Karlos got into a pretty heated and very public Twitter spat after 17-year-old Juan Karlos apparently tweeted: "@Espanto2001 gayness at its finest."
Juan Karlos' tweet was later deleted but Darren on Monday, October 22, tweeted a screenshot of the original tweet and said: "Timing ‘no? Dinelete ng “hacker” mo yung tweet na ‘to after kang kausapin ng management (What great timing. The 'hacker' deleted the tweet after management spoke to you)."
"Pag nahanap mo yung hacker mo puntahan niyo ako para malaman niyo kung sino yung totoong BAKLA (If you find the hacker, come to me so we'll find out who's the real bakla here)," added the The Voice Kids alumnus.
Timing ‘no? Dinelete ng “hacker” mo yung tweet na ‘to after kang kausapin ng management. Pag nahanap mo yung hacker mo puntahan niyo ako para malaman niyo kung sino yung totoong BAKLA. @KarlosLabajo pic.twitter.com/HhVsMVhrSH
— Darren Espanto (@Espanto2001) October 22, 2018
May gender identity issues ka diba? Wag mo akong itulad sa’yo. pic.twitter.com/cdjIqXP9Kq
— Darren Espanto (@Espanto2001) October 22, 2018
Darren went even further, hitting back at a Twitter user who asked if the 17-year-old was gay or not. "May gender identity issues ka diba? Wag mo akong itulad sa'yo (It's you with the gender identity issues, right? Don't think we're the same)," Darren said.
Juan Karlos initially didn't respond directly to Darren's tweet, instead opting to say thank you to "people who loved him."
para sa mga taong nagmamahal sakin mga solid kayo kayo ang nagpapadaloy sa dugo ko. mahal ko kayo. para naman sa mga haters kayo nagpapadugo sa utak ko hahaha
— juan karlos (@KarlosLabajo) October 22, 2018
He later insisted that he did not send out the tweet himself and that "we weren't talking about him at PBB before (hindi siya ang pinaguusapan namin sa pbb dati)." The young singer also said it was "hard to defend [himself]" because doing so might make him seem guilty.
"Pero kung tatahi-tahimik ka lang din, para ka naring nag admit na tama mga hinala nila. Gulo ng sistema diba (But if you remain quiet, it's as if you admit that their suspicions are true. What a difficult situation, right)?" he added.
and di ko lang kayang gawin ay humingi ng patawad sa mga bagay na hindi ko ginawa. mamatay man lahat ng tao na mahal ko at nagmamahal sakin per once and for all, hindi ako ang nag tweet nun at hindi siya ang pinaguusapan namin sa pbb dati. yun lang yun.
— juan karlos (@KarlosLabajo) October 22, 2018
it's so hard to defend yourself because the more you do it mas hindi na kapanipaniwala. pero kung tatahi-tahimik ka lang din, para ka naring nag admit na tama mga hinala nila. gulo ng sistema diba?
— juan karlos (@KarlosLabajo) October 22, 2018
Both Darren and Juan Karlos were contestants in the first season of the singing competition. MYX notes they were "BFFs (best friends forever)" during the compeition, despite being under different coaches then (Darren under Sarah Geronimo and Juan Karlos under Bamboo).
While it's unclear what the context of Juan Karlos' vague and now-deleted tweet was, or if it's true that the tweet was actually a "hack," one thing should be clear: "gayness" or being "bakla" isn't deplorable, nor should it be implied as such.
The Good Men Project defines "discomfort with being identified as a member of the LGBTQ+ community" as a "symptom" of fragile masculinity – a subset of toxic masculinity.
Because you know what's deplorable? Statements that imply that an already-marginalized sector is to be looked down on, in a horrible homophobic world.
Director Kip Oebanda on Twitter, seemingly reacting to the issue of identity and those who identify as LGTBQ+. "Maybe we should stop asking people if they're gay? No good ever comes out of it," the Liway director said.
Maybe we should stop asking people if they're gay? No good ever comes out of it. You either:
— Kip Oebanda (@kipoebanda) October 22, 2018
1. Force someone to come out not in their own terms
2. Make someone deny their true identity
3. They're straight & deny, reinforces heteronormative standards, making LGBTs feel different.
– Rappler.com
