MANILA – Singer-actress Lea Salonga’s recent Twitter post on ‘kababawan’ (shallowness) earned the ire of several netizens who reacted negatively.
Lea’ controversial post read, ‘Okay lang sa akin ang kababawan, pero hanggang doon na lamang ba tayo?’ (Shallowness is okay for me, but is that all we desire?) She also placed the hashtag ‘NagtatanongLangPo’ (JustAsking) in the said post.
Okay lang sa akin ang kababawan, pero hanggang doon na lamang ba tayo? #NagtatanongLangPo
— Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) September 26, 2015
Not mentioning anything particular in her Twitter post, the singer later on clarified that she was not pertaining to the popular loveteam ‘AlDub’ in her post over the weekend.
Ang daming judgmental at defensive dito. Haaaaay, di niyo na-gets ang tweet ko.
— Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) September 26, 2015
Uhmmm… I have no idea what's going on. Why did people assume I was tweeting about AlDub? I wasn't. I don't know about it. So why the hate?
— Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) September 26, 2015
Only now am I finding out that today was a significant day. I honestly had zero idea anything was going on! My tweet was pure coincidence!
— Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) September 26, 2015
Netizens, however, assumed that that she was referring to the AlDub phenomenon, where millions of Filipinos have become fans of Alden Richards and Yaya Dub’s (Maine Mendoza) loveteam in Eat Bulaga’s kalyeserye segment.
@MsLeaSalonga kung ikaliligaya bakit hindi. Bakit anu bang nandyan sa kataas-taasan?
— 로난 주드 (@gaucherive) September 26, 2015
@MsLeaSalonga pagkabasa ko sa Tanong mo, for the 1st ime in 10weeks ngayon Lang ako nakaramdam ng sobrang lungkot. Mababaw nga siguro ako.
— peachy (@qwinpea) September 26, 2015
@msleasalonga That's why it's called an "entertainment show." They do teach family values though, that's not mababaw, right? #ALDubEBforLOVE
— Lieza (@LiezaPunsi) September 26, 2015
Other Twitter users, on the other hand, defended the actress, saying that she did not mention anything about ‘AlDub’ in her Twitter post.
im active fan of ALDUB and a huge fan of Lea Salonga, walang sinabing nega si Lea sa ALDUB,Lea & Alden shares same stylist. #ALDubEBforLOVE
— Jake Collin (@esmeralda_jake) September 26, 2015
https://twitter.com/VincentVonnGogh/status/648463104402022400
Why do we hate ppl hu r brave enuf 2 speak their minds,esp if it's opposite the populr opinion? Im w/ #LeaSalonga on this 1. #sorrynotsorry
— strong potato (@tararotiprata) September 28, 2015
For those of you that replied about BALANCE, you rock my world. That's what I was after. We all need fun, but that can't be all there is.
— Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) September 26, 2015
Meanwhile, Eat Bulaga mainstay host Joey de Leon also reacted to Lea’s controversial post, saying ‘Hindi naman pala daw AlDub pinatatamaan ni Lea. Baka naman ‘yung kabila? Nagtatanong lang po.’ (So Lea’s not pertaining to AlDub after all. [She] may be referring to the other show? Just asking.)
Hindi naman pala daw AlDub pinatatamaan ni Lea. Baka naman yung kabila? Nagtatanong lang po.
— Joey de Leon (@AngPoetNyo) September 27, 2015
Bigyan ako ng Dalawampu't Limang Milyon, Anim na Raang Libong dahilan bakit may "kababawan" ang Kalyeserye. Baka KABEBEWAN! #ALDUBandPROUD
— Joey de Leon (@AngPoetNyo) September 27, 2015
Ayaw nila nang MABABAW kaya NASA ILALIM SILA! #ALDUBThisMustBeLove
— Joey de Leon (@AngPoetNyo) September 28, 2015