LGBT writer Jude Bacalso made an official statement after she allegedly forced a waiter who called him sir to stand for two hours in front of him.

In his statement, Jude insisted that he usually only educated the people who ‘misgendered’ her.

According to him, his actions towards the waiter were only his form of educating someone about LGBT and pronouns.

He also denied that he asked the waiter to stand for two hours.

“Because I am close to the owners of the restaurant, I informed them directly instead of taking it thoughtlessly to the court of public opinion. The error was made even more jarring to me since one of the owners is a beautiful transwoman, whose own transition I have witnessed through the years,” she said.

“Did the staff stand there for hours? Yes, we were waiting to resolve it with the owners. Did I demand that he stand there as punishment? No. The supervisor was there when I discussed with the erring staff that perhaps a gender sensitivity seminar would benefit them. The supervisor acknowledged that this incident was a wake-up call to them and that they would welcome that opportunity,” he added.

He also reminded the people that Cebu City has anti-discrimination ordinances in the country.

“What transpired between me and the staff was also a matter to be settled between us, and we were,” she stated.

A concerned citizen shared the incident on social media, saying that he witnessed Jude let the waiter stand in front of him for two hours.

“I asked this guy Jude if he was the owner or customer. The guy Jude sarcastically said “Go ask him (referring to the server) what happened. Then I asked the server what happened, and he answered “Natawag ko siyang sir.” netizen John Colderon said.

As of writing, the said restaurant has yet to give their official statement on the issue.

Former internet sensation Diwata, now a vlogger, seems to be following the style of other content creators who connected with him during the peak of his popularity.

In his vlog, Diwata could be seen looking for phones he could distribute to his lucky followers online.

The video showed Diwata buying five Android phones and three iPhones, saying that he would give all of those gadgets to his followers.

“Ito na, mga ka-Diwata! Abangan niyo ang mechanics kung paano kayo mananalo ng mga ito,” he said.

However, it seems that the video didn’t gain many views; two days after it was uploaded on social media, it only gained 8,700 views.

Some experts believed that the popularity of Diwata already ended, and many people were now switching to other content creators to watch.

They also said that Diwata should have started vlogging during the peak of his popularity.

It can be recalled that only other content creators benefited from Diwata’s popularity several months ago and some even reported that they earned hundreds of thousands of pesos in just recording the former internet sensation alone.

Netizens couldn’t hide their romantic excitement after they saw a comment from singer/actress Sofi Fermazi, who expressed her admiration for OPM legend Rico Blanco.

In a Facebook comment, Sofi told Rico that the latter was the reason why she was inspired to become a musician.

She was also hoping for a collaboration between her and Rico in the future.

“You are a great artist Rico Blanco, you are my idol when I was still young and I really love your songs. You inspired me to play guitar. Hoping maka-colab kita in the future,” she wrote.

Some netizens said Rico and his ex-girlfriend, Maris Racal, also started an idol-fan situation before dating.

However, they also cautioned Rico to be careful and just find a non-showbiz girlfriend next time.

“Ginagawang stepping stone pag nakilala na iiwan na sayang lang, humanap ka na lang ng non showbiz, na nagmamahal sa yo Rico,” netizen Rem said.

“Girls talaga unang nagpapapansin kay Rico tapos pag naging jowa na nila pag tumagal tagal na iniiwan din nila,” netizen Datu commented.

“Wag kana mag pa loko hahahha mag papasikat lang din yan tapos pag nag boom iiwan ka rin haha,” netizen Jed remarked.

Rico has yet to give his response to Sofi, who also became a participant of It’s Showtime’s EXpecially For You.

It’s Showtime host Karylle who expressed her support for her colleague Vice Ganda, who went viral recently after he removed his wig.

It can be recalled that Vice removed his wig as a support to one of the participants of EXpecially For You, April, who had a condition called Alopecia.

After removing his wig, Vice then sent a touching message to April.

“Pareho tayong naka-wig. Sana makahanap ka ng lalaki na ano gusto kang yakapin kahit wala kang wig…. hahalikan ka kahit wala ka ng wig tapos ‘mag-a-I love you’ kahit wala ka ng wig. One day some day you will get that because you deserve that,” Vice said.

“Hindi na ako affected sa mga pangit na pangit sa akin ‘pag walang wig. May wig o wala, may nagmamahal dito noh… bukod kay Ion, mahal ako ng nanay ko… mahal ako ng mga kapatid ko… mahal ako ng pamilya ko, mahal ako ni Lord,” he added.

In her Instagram post, Karylle described Vice’s gesture as simple but has a long-lasting effect.

“Sometimes, the simplest acts of love have the longest lasting impact. And of course though simple, it took vicey years to get to this level of comfort to give comfort to someone who needed it the most,” she said.

“Thanks, Vicey! The moment I saw you loosening the straps, I knew you were getting ready for this life changing moment for April. It’s beautiful to witness this kind of beauty. My heart is so happy,” she added.

Barbie Forteza received praise from the netizens after she quickly ran to check Herlene Budol’s condition when the latter fell off the stage during the GMA Gala.

Last Saturday, Herlene went viral on social media after she was recorded walking through the stage to present her dress when suddenly, she made a wrong step and fell off the stage.

The early footage only showed Budol’s fall, but the next videos clearly showed the incident.

In the video, she presented herself to the audience when she saw Budol’s fall.

Her facial expression showed concern, and she quickly ran toward Budol, wearing a heavy gown.

Barbie received praise from the netizens for being kind.

“I’m not a fan of Barbie, but seeing her kind act makes me amazed at her,” netizen Mark said.

“Super bait po tlga ni barbie Forteza naalala ko nung ngtaping kami sa Luna Blanca ng GMA d sya suplada mas maarte pa si bea kala mo sino sikat. Sya game na game sa picturan,” netizen Diana remarked.

“Tama nga yun kwento noon ni Ivana Alawi about Barbie, stay bumble and down to earth barbie. Malayo pa mararating mo, God bless,” netizen Maria said.

Meanwhile, Herlene, accused of faking her fall, insisted that the incident was not scripted.

Barbie Is So Sweet Helping Herlen Budol To Get Up😭

"That Kind Of Love"#Barda #BarbieForteza #DavidLicauco #GMAGala2024 pic.twitter.com/okBVPkjfYx

— Cordelia (@Cordel2022) July 20, 2024

The rift between Anjo Yllana and Rustom Padilla was well-known in the 90s as it was one of the first known issues that sparked the conversation about the latter’s true identity.

It can be recalled that no one thought that Rustom, known for being an action star and one of the bad boys of cinema, was hiding his true self.

However, rumors about Rustom were already circulating around the industry.

Eventually, Rustom admitted his true self and transformed into BB. Gandanghari.

The story started in the early 1990s during the now-defunct sitcom Palibhasa Lalaki production, which featured Anjo, Rustom, and Carmina Villaroel.

According to the reports, Anjo joked about Rustom’s orientation behind the camera, which didn’t sit well with Carmina.

While the joke was not aired on television, the incident pushed Carmina to leave the show and prompted Rustom and his brother, Robin Padilla, to target Anjo.

In his explanation during an interview with Morly Alinio, Anjo said that the assistant director asked him to make a joke about Rustom.

“Si Rustom ay bak…” Anjo said while recalling the said line.

Anjo said that the incident happened during the show’s rehearsal and that the joke had been removed from the actual take.

However, Carmina’s make-up artist heard the joke, thinking that Anjo was trying to make fun of Rustom for real.

The make-up artist then informed Carmina and Rustom about what Anjo said, which started it all.

The confrontation between them didn’t end at the studio, and Anjo was awkward because he was Robin’s neighbor at the time.

Fortunately, three decades after the incident, Anjo shared that he reconciled with the parties involved.

He even shared that Robin urged him to also run for senator, which he refused to do.

Basketball player Kobe Paras denied the rumors that he was dating Kapuso actress Kyline Alcantara despite them being spotted making sweet gestures on several occasions.

In an interview with GMA, Kobe described his relationship with Kyline as ‘friends’ only.

“We are great friends. Bakit girlfriend agad? Nagtanong na ba ako?” said Kobe.

“We are just great friends right now, really close friends,” he added.

He also confirmed the photos circulating on social media where he could be seen holding Kyline’s hands.

It can be recalled that rumors of a possible relationship between Kobe and Kyline started to circulate on social media after they were spotted together in Bonifacio Global City.

Many netizens supported the idea of the two dating together, especially Kylie, who broke up with Mavy Legaspi several months ago.

They also understood why Kobe was careful to talk when it came to Kylie.

“Friends as of the moment para nga naman di iniintriga,” a netizen said.

“Ang sweet pala ni Kobe sa mga friends niya holding hands in the parking lot, kiss sa ulo and very touchy. Sinong niloloko niyo… Hahahha,” another netizen commented.

“Malamang nag-usap yang 2. Alam mo naman sa showbiz pag umamin na iintrigahin naman para maghiwalay. What you see is what you get lang naman yan. Pero ang gwapo at hot ni kobe paras! Pinakagwapo sa lahat sa gala,” a netizen remarked.