One of the trending topics on social media right now is Toni Gonzaga’s comment in her latest uploaded video in her YouTube channel last week, August 4, 2024, featuring Vivamax actress Angeli Khang, regarding the harassment done by her male co-actor in her last movie. Toni’s comment received mixed reactions online. 

As the conversation continued, this is where Angeli Khang shared her experience with her male co-actor while they were working on their last movie. 

She also mentioned in the interview that there were instances when the plaster or covering on her male co-actor’s private part would come off because he would get aroused during their scenes. She added that even before the scene started, her co-actor would kiss her, even after the director called ‘cut’ the man continued kissing her.

“Ako nasa isip ko, basta one take go mo na. After non dun na ko mag rereklamo kay direk.” Angeli said in the interview.

The words or reactions that Toni expressed in her interview were wrong, because many of us experience harassment that can later lead to trauma. Even if we say that it wasn’t her intention to offend any of us, especially those who have experienced abuse, her way of reacting to Angeli’s experience was still wrong. 

“I f*k*ng loath Toni Gonzaga. Imagine, asking a woman if she felt victimized in which she replied yes. And yet, you still watered it down by saying “lalaki sila.” Toni did not just dismiss that woman’s trauma, but she also justified rape culture and all these horrible men.” someone posted on X.

This situation brings us to light in the deeper systematic issue: the normalization of harassment on film sets and the pressure on the actors, particularly women, to endure such inhumane behaviors to avoid jeopardizing their careers. The industry has long been scrutinized for its toxic work environment– from Holywood to Philippine cinema, where the power dynamics often leave vulnerable people without the support they need to speak out. In Angeli’s case, there is a troubling pressure for her to finish the set despite her discomfort reflects the norm in the industry where the well-being of actors are sacrificed for the sake of a “good take”.

Recently, actor Sandro Mulach has been involved in a Senate hearing regarding a similar experience of harassment. His case has been put to spotlight on how pervasive the issue of harassment is, cutting across gender lines and affects everyone regardless of their status or gender. 

The fact that this issue is being addressed at the legislative level shows the level of the seriousness of the problem and the need for the system to change.

As the discourse surrounding these issues continue, I hope that we push for a shift in how harassment is addressed, both within the entertainment industry and in public conversations. Victims deserve to be heard, believed, and supported. Public figures have a responsibility to use their platforms to advocate for change, not to perpetuate the status quo. Let’s stop the cycle of victim blaming and anything less that only serves to perpetuate the cycle of abuse that has plagued the industry for far too long.