In the past few months, rumors have been circulating on social media about the possible removal of Ryan Agoncillo, Maine Mendoza, and Paolo Ballesteros in Eat Bulaga.
The news came before Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon, and all original Eat Bulaga hosts resigned from Television and Production Exponents Inc. (TAPE Inc.) last May 31.
Veteran columnist Cristy Fermin and her co-hosts Rommel Chika and Wendell Alvarez discussed in their online show ‘Showbiz Now Na!” the basis of TAPE Inc. to remove the three hosts despite having a huge fanbase.
Wendell shared the information he received, citing the possible reasons why Maine, Ryan, and Paolo almost got removed from Eat Bulaga.
Maine Mendoza’s alleged fading popularity:
According to Wendell, TAPE Inc. allegedly wanted to remove Maine because of her fading popularity, citing that her tandem with Alden Richards, popularly known as ‘AlDub,’ has been disbanded already.
However, Cristy argued that Maine has still a strong fanbase despite the absence of the AlDub love team.
“2015 ipinanganak ang AlDub hanggang ngayon mainit pa rin. Hindi pinagsawaan ng publiko. Ang AlDub ay AlDub pa rin,” Cristy said.
Ryan Agoncillo’s only purpose is when he needs to communicate in English to the audience:
Rommel talked about the rumored reason why TAPE Inc. allegedly wanted to pull out Ryan from Eat Bulaga, saying that the host only becoming useful because of his English skills.
However, Cristy called the reason ‘unfair’ saying that Ryan’s talent as a host has been recognized by many people.
“Ipinanganak na host si Ryan Agoncillo. Kaya hindi dapat minamaliit ang kanyang talento,” Cristy said, citing the successful hosting of Ryan in now-defunct talent show in TV5 ‘Talentadong Pinoy’.
Paolo Ballesteros being LGBT:
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Cristy then talked about the basis made by TAPE Inc. to remove Paolo from the show allegedly connected to his identity as a member of the LGBT community.
However, she cited that Paolo became one of the reasons why Eat Bulaga dominated the ratings in 2015 during the AlDub phenomenon, mentioning the host’s character as Lola Tidora.
“Eh nung panahon, kasagsagan ng AlDub, sino ba ang bumuhay dun sa Kalyeserye ‘di ba? Sino-sino ang mga lola?” she said.
“At saka ano ‘yung hanggang pa-make up, make up lang daw si Paolo Ballesteros? Yaman po ng mundo ng sining ang kahusayan ni Paolo sa pagmi-make up na kaya niyang plakaduhin kahit sinong international star,” she added.
Aside from the said three hosts, Ryzza Mae Dizon has reportedly planned to be removed from the show and be replaced by another child host.