TVJ

The Unholy Trinity. From left to right: Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon.

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TVJ is the collective name for a comedy troupe made up of Filipino veteran comedians Tito Sotto, Tito's younger brother Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon. The trio gained popularity in their native Philippines when they served as the original hosts of Eat Bulaga, a variety game show programme which first aired on July 30, 1979, on Radio Philippines Network, having previously starred in a number of sketch comedy shows and musical programmes since 1972 as well as pursuing a career in music with the Sotto brothers forming the disco group VST & Company in the late 70s.

They, along with their roster of co-hosts, resigned from TAPE, Inc. to form their own production company in 2023, where they started a variety show under the placeholder title E.A.T. after a widely-publicised split with TAPE, Inc. In December 2023, the courts sided with TVJ over ownership of the Eat Bulaga brand, paving the way for them to revert to the old Bulaga moniker.

What's the fuss about them?

Well, while they have been household name in Philippine entertainment for almost half a century, all isn't sunshine and roses for them, and given the seedy underbelly of the entertainment industry not just in Hollywood but overseas, as well as how crackpots like Rodrigo Duterte tend to get away scot-free due to how they exert and take advantage of their sociopolitical influence, despite assurances by some about their relative "wholesomeness" and family-friendliness compared to their rivals, the TVJ troupe and their co-stars in Eat Bulaga have had their fair share of controversies both in the entertainment industry, and in the case of Tito Sotto, politics.

Ethnic embroilment

Salam, Dabarkads!

Both Bulaga and its temporary incarnation as E.A.T. have made use of ethnic jokes stoking national stereotypes at the expense of those mocked.

During TVJ's stint at Bulaga, one of the gags Tito and Joey pulled was in a 2015 Halloween episode where they dressed up as stereotypical Arab men, specifically wearing keffiyeh or hatta (headdress) and a thawb (long-sleeved garment). This obviously did not sit well with both netizens and the Filipino Muslim community who took umbrage at an act of cultural appropriation, racism and Islamophobia, with ARMM governor Mujiv Hataman demanding an apology from the duo; Tito however showed defiance and claimed they had nothing to apologise for, maintaining that the garment was a gift from a sheikh friend of his and they were not mocking any culture or religion. Similarly, prominent Filipino Muslim actor Robin Padilla dismissed the costume controversy, remarking that there were far more serious issues that should be addressed than the costumes worn by the hosts, while also fearing backlash from his fellow Muslim compatriots.

In a "Bawal Judgemental" (transl. "Don't Be Judgemental") segment, Joey made a snide remark towards a Filipino woman of Chinese descent asking if she underwent a check-up presumably for COVID-19. Some were quick to point out the sinophobic connotations of the joke Joey told in relation to the pandemic's origin.

In an August 2023 episode of E.A.T., Jose Manalo made a remark towards Nigerian co-host Daniel "Tugue Zombie" Oke (who initially gained viral popularity in his adopted Philippines as a Tagalog-speaking vlogger) where he joked that if he won Tugue as a prize in a bingo game, it would be called a "blackout", in reference to marking all numbers on a bingo board. Audiences were quick to point out the flagrantly racist remark Manalo made towards the Nigerian; Zombie however somehow came to Manalo's defence and maintained that he wasn't offended by the blackout joke, telling critics to "mind their own business".

The suffering sirens

While Eat Bulaga! had the distinction of promoting the cause of transgender women through the "Super Sireyna" segment since 1995, it was also dubiously complimented with the so-called "Suffer Sireyna" spin-off, a self-parody of "Super Sireyna" aired as a subsegment of "Juan for All, All for Juan: Bayanihan of d' Pipol", where gay and transgender residents of the barangays visited by the Juan for All crew compete in food challenges, acting skits, and question-and-answer portions, from the condescending such as being given a measly ₱1,000 or bizarre prizes like firewood or junk food from a nearby store, to the extreme and denigrating such as ingesting coffee powder or eating raw meat, all while TVJ and their co-hosts laugh at the humiliating spectacle.

It may have been a hit with audiences and portions of the LGBTQ+ community as a cheap laugh due to the bumbling antics of the participants involved, but many LGBTQ+ advocates condemned it as amounting to a freak show or a human zoo where impoverished gay and transgender barangay residents were openly mocked and ridiculed. John Ryan Mendoza of Outrage also pointed out how Allan K., an openly gay actor and veteran Bulaga host, apparently kept mum about the ensuing freak show despite being "in a position of power to call the failings of Suffer SiReyna".

De Leon, the callous clown

Trigger warning: References to depression and suicide.

As if they aren't fully aware of de Leon's naughty sense of humour despite having been loyal to the show for decades.

Joey de Leon, a former disc jockey-turned-comedian and part of the TVJ trio, is known for his extensive use of wordplay and so-called "green jokes" i.e. ribald humour, oftentimes with off-colour if not outright risqué double entendres. As witty as they may seem, there were instances where he arguably took the joke too far especially given the Philippines' socially-conservative atmosphere in past decades, and in recent years, the rise of progressive social consciousness movements in the country.

In 2017 he came under fire from netizens and mental health experts as well as the Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) for making a denialist claim that conditions such as depression are completely made up by those suffering from them. This stemmed from an episode of Eat Bulaga! during the "Juan for All, All for Juan" segment where a contestant whom the Bulaga co-hosts paid a visit to explained that their mother suffered from depression, which de Leon tactlessly downplayed:

Yung depression gawa-gawa lang ‘yan… Gawa nila sa sarili nila. (Depression is just made up. They put it upon themselves.)

One of the co-hosts, Maine Mendoza, chided de Leon:

Uy pero hindi biro yan ha. Siyempre maraming nakakaranas ng ganun lalo na sa mga kabataan kaya dapat pag may nakakaranas ng ganun, kailangan natin bigyan natin ng suporta (It’s not a joke. A lot experience it, especially the young people, which is why we should give them support).

De Leon persisted however, and merely chalked it up to a person's financial standing, to the applause of the live studio audience who were clearly ignorant over the gravity of the subject. Unsurprisingly, his remarks were met with condemnation and scorn on social media by netizens who berated de Leon for his reckless ignorance about the suffering people with depression go through. He has since apologised over the matter, claiming in an interview that his relatives schooled him on mental and psychological health. Perhaps in a morbidly ironic twist, de Leon's own son Kempee went through a "major depression" when he was booted from Eat Bulaga! in 2022.

“”Anong masama sa lubid? Dba 'pag my kinakasal, dba my sinasabit na lubid ung dalawang abay sa kinakasal. Maraming ibig sabihin ng lubid na sinasabit sa leeg hindi lang sa pagpapakamatay. Buti sana kung sinabi ni Sir Joey "Lubid nakalimutan mo, dba sinasabit din sa leeg yun pag nagpapakamatay" yun pwedeng ibash kasi mali talaga sya. (What's wrong with [mentioning] 'rope'? Isn't it when there's a wedding, they tie a rope around the couple? There's plenty of things that a rope refers to besides suicide. Had Sir Joey said, "You forgot to mention rope, don't they hang it on one's neck whenever they commit suicide?" that would've been worth criticising as it is indeed wrong.)

—A certain YouTube user burying her head in the sand.

And as if he didn't learn from his past experiences with mental illness denial, he once again elicited controversy in 2023 where he jokingly suggested a noose as one of the most commonly worn objects around the neck during the "Gimme 5: Laro ng mga Henyo" segment aired on September 23, 2023, widely interpreted by audiences as a reference to suicide by hanging. During the segment, one of the contestants struggled to name anything other than "necklace", and when his turn ended, de Leon blurted out "Rope, rope, you forgot [to include that]." This prompted widespread backlash both from audiences and mental health experts who argued that suicide is never to be trivialised or joked about. Netizens also called on MTRCB chairperson Diorella Maria Sotto-Antonio, daughter of Tito Sotto, to investigate the incident, and saw a double standard over filing sanctions against a rival programme yet overlooking any indiscretions made by the show Diorella's father starred in. Fanboys of the show were busy burying their heads in the sand and alleged that the ensuing backlash was orchestrated by It's Showtime loyalists, arguing that the noose joke was taken out of context despite the obvious suicidal connotations of a rope around one's neck. In a formal letter addressed to the MTRCB dated September 25, creative director Jeny Ferre explained that de Leon conveyed the incident verbally in a very brief manner without further actions, elaborations, or demonstrations, but their management acknowledged those sentiments that it insinuated suicide, and they were regretful and apologetic to those offended by de Leon's utterance.

Despite intense criticism over the suicide joke controversy, de Leon has so far refused to make a statement condemning his recent gaffe, in stark contrast to his previous public apology over the depression remarks he made in 2017. In a tweet, he echoed the sentiments of fellow comedian and former Bulaga host Michael V. who lamented how it is hard for comedians to make people laugh as "a lot of people just criticize" and they end up getting cancelled for the (inappropriate) jokes they make - "They think that they’re better than us. They should take over our spots. But what do you call them? Especially that you’ve been in the industry longer than them? They think they’re a lot funnier. That’s it, jealous people."

The grooming gentlemen and the soda scandal

“”Hangga’t may bata, may Eat Bulaga. (As long as there are children, there will be Eat Bulaga.)

—Joey de Leon

Ryzza Mae Dizon in 2016. TVJ's close association with child performers led to concern and controversy over their treatment of minors.

Even more disturbing is their treatment of women and children both in their comedy routines and elsewhere, and yet they somehow escaped potential prosecution in spite of what amounts to child abuse if not outright paedophilia or ephebophilia, and in some cases enabling of rape culture and victim shaming by the trio.

Ryzza Mae Dizon, a teen actress who first gained popularity in the 2010s as a contestant in the "Little Miss Philippines" child beauty pageant segment, was involved in at least a few controversies, one of which was when Vic Sotto made an apparent paedophiliac remark towards her during the "Little Miss Philippines" coronation day in 2012, where Vic (ostensibly) made a slip of the tongue and asked if he could touch the then seven-year old girl provocatively, which he quickly corrected. Dizon was once again at the centre of controversy when Sotto was summoned by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) for spitting juice in front of the girl in the "Ang Joke Ko" segment, about which the board expressed concern over "scenes allegedly insensitive and unfriendly to children".

In a 2018 Eat Bulaga! episode, the older hosts had then-six year old Sebastian "Baste" Granfon, also known by his stage name "Bae-by" Baste, sing the Bruno Mars single "Versace on the Floor", the lyrics of which refer to an intimate encounter i.e. sex. Anyone with the right mind would know how grossly inappropriate it would be to have a six-year old, of all people, sing a mature song about sexual intercourse,^{[citation NOT needed]} and yet this somehow passed under MTRCB's radar in comparison to the shitstorm that ensued in a rival game show where a six-year old boy was made to perform a suggestive dance to the tune of Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode".

But perhaps the most infamous of these indiscretions are the widely publicised allegations of rape by the late starlet Pepsi Paloma (born Delia Dueñas Smith) against the TVJ trio. Paloma previously appeared in a number of softcore films (known in local vernacular as "bomba" or "bold" films) as part of the so-called “Soft Drink Beauties” together with Coca Nicolas (née Johnnalee Hickins) and Sarsi Emmanuelle (née Maria Jennifer Obregon Mitchell), and made her on-screen debut at just fifteen years old in Brown Emmanuelle (1982), making her (along with Nicolas and Emanuelle) the Philippines' answer to Traci Lords. Months after starring in Brown Emmanuelle, Paloma wound up in an encounter with Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon, and Ricardo "Richie D'Horsie" Reyes after making a guest appearance with fellow actress Guada Garin in Iskul Bukol, where, according to her own account, she was drugged by the comedians, taken to a hotel room and gang-raped. Tito Sotto reportedly intervened and was alleged to have coerced Paloma into hushing up the affair by placing a pistol on the table in front of her. The ensuing scandal led the trio to issue a public apology in the October 13, 1982 edition of the People’s Journal:

We hope that you will not allow the error we have committed against you to stand as a stumbling block to that future which we all look forward to. We, therefore, ask you to find it in your heart to pardon us for the wrong which we have done against you.

The Pepsi brand has a mixed reputation in the Philippines, both because of Pepsi Paloma and Pepsi Number Fever.

Tito vehemently denied any wrongdoing by his brother Vic in an interview with Who magazine published on September 29, 1982, reasoning that he was "too frail and skinny" to sexually violate Paloma. De Leon, being the callous edgelord proll that he is, made a mockery of the controversy and wore a "Coke is it" shirt during a hearing at the Quezon City Fiscal’s office as a dog whistle reference to the Paloma scandal. Paloma did not pursue any further charges against the comedians and was later found dead in an apparent suicide. Tito later dismissed the allegations as a mere publicity stunt on the part of Paloma and denied having used his political influence to turn the case in their favour; he did on the other hand pressure the Philippine Daily Inquirer into suppressing online articles mentioning the Paloma scandal on the grounds that it was "damaging" to his public image as a senator, apparently not getting the memo that there's such a thing as the Streisand effect anyway. Adding salt to TVJ's wound was when a self-described "white-hat troll" uploaded scans of the Who interview with the trio, where it was written that Joey had the gall to remark about a court clerk who "whispered she wished she were the one raped". Perhaps intriguingly enough, in a 2024 interview with journalist Julius Babao–which was uploaded in time for E.A.T.'s relaunch as Eat Bulaga after TVJ Productions was awarded the rights to use the old Bulaga brand–fellow former Soft Drink Beauty Coca Nicolas also denied the allegations, maintaining that the whole TVJ rape scandal was a public relations stunt orchestrated by their manager, Rey dela Cruz:

Coca: “Totoo ba yung sa inyo ni Tito, Vic, and Joey?” (“Was that thing with you and Tito, Vic, and Joey true?”)

Pepsi: “Hindi ah! Alam mo naman si Tito Rey... Parang hindi ka naman naano diyan kay Tito. Lahat gagawin niya para sumikat tayo." (“No! I'm sure you know Tito Rey... It's not like he hasn't done anything to you. He'll do everything to make us famous.”)

The suspicious circumstances of Pepsi's fall from grace and death served to fuel much speculation and conspiracy theories, one notable example being the Eraserheads song "Spoliarium", which was widely alleged to be a veiled allusion to the Paloma affair, particularly the lines "Umiyak ang umaga/Anong sinulat ni Enteng at Joey diyan/Sa pintong salamin/'Di ko na mabasa/'Pagkat merong nagbura" (transl. "The morning cried/What did Enteng and Joey write on the glass door/I couldn't read it/Because someone erased it") which are interpreted to be a reference to Tito Sotto's supposed efforts at a coverup. Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia later denied in a podcast that the song was in any way alluding to TVJ's encounter with Paloma, as it was just about their experiences when they were intoxicated at some point in their careers; The "Enteng and Joey" mentioned in the song were merely their roadies at the time. Interestingly, the band would be in Tito Sotto's crosshairs as Sotto sought to ban the Eraserheads single "Alapaap" over its alleged reference to substance abuse, which indeed turned out to be an ode to marijuana as Buendia eventually confessed in an interview. Buendia and his bandmates also co-starred in the drag comedy film Run Barbi Run alongside de Leon who starred as the titular Barbi. There also supposedly exists live televised footage of TVJ tearfully begging Paloma (and by extension the public) for forgiveness on Eat Bulaga, something which intrigued lost media enthusiasts who sought for its discovery, if it existed at all; speculation has it that the live apology did exist but was suppressed by TAPE, Inc. on Tito Sotto's orders. And to top it all off, had Vic, Joey and Richie been properly prosecuted and convicted of the crimes they were accused of, they would have been sent to the electric chair for statutory rape, a fate which befell three of four convicted rapists in actress Maggie de la Riva's case a decade prior, which had the dubious honour of having the rapists' executions broadcast on live radio under Ferdinand Marcos's orders.

Equally disturbing if not even more so is Romeo Jalosjos, TAPE, Inc. owner and the TVJ's erstwhile employer prior to their exodus to E.A.T.. Jalosjos was at the center of a highly publicised scandal in 1997 when he was convicted of child sexual abuse involving an eleven-year old aspiring actress who got roped into Jalosjos's casting couch by the girl's uncle who was pimping her at the time. Despite being supposedly slapped with life imprisonment for paedophilia, Jalosjos's stint in prison amounted more to a government-sponsored vacation than a punitive act against a child sex offender, using his political influence to build lavish facilities all while behind bars. And if that wasn't enough, then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo granted him clemency and eventually pardoned him for "good behavior", all in spite of the verdict branding him as a kiddie-diddler at "the bottom of the barrel of moral depravity" where "no legal system worthy of the name can afford to ignore the traumatic consequences for the unfortunate victim and grievous injury to the peace and good order of the community".

Sotto, the swiping senator

I could get away with this. After all, I am an influential politician.

Besides the above-mentioned Paloma affair, Tito Sotto, a noted politician, has had his fair share of gaffes throughout his career as a statesman. An outspoken conservative pro-life activist, Sotto vehemently opposed the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill which aims to provide Filipinos proper access to contraceptives. He made his opinions known through his speeches in 2012, but this fell through when it was found out that Sotto's passages were ripped wholesale from a blog post written by American home economist columnist Sarah Pope and U.S. senator Robert Kennedy's 1966 address to South Africans, which he quote-mined to further his anti-contraception agenda.

Despite being berated by both Pope and Robert Kennedy's daughter for flagrant kanging, Sotto expressed defiance and asserted that he did not plagiarise them, erroneously believing that an unattributed translation of someone else's manuscript does not count as plagiarism. Journalist Raissa Robles opined that Sotto's flippant disregard for copyright over works published on the internet, i.e. his erroneous assumption that everything online is "public domain" and thus free real estate would effectively make him an unwitting digital pirate.

Sotto was also one of two senators who added libel provisions to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which criminalised (perceived) slander online. He however denied he did so to get back at those who mocked and criticised him for the plagiarism he committed.

See also

• Raffy Tulfo - Filipino senator and television personality also known for obscenity controversies and exploitation of poverty.