The Kapuso host seemingly had his own medicine when netizens collectively corrected his tweet on the emerging ‘monkeypox’ disease.
It was Kuya Kim Atienza’s time to get schooled yesterday, July 30. The politician-turned-TV-personality, known for giving trivia and information to Filipinos, received a backlash after he said in a tweet that monkeypox is a sexually-transmitted disease and that men engaging in same-sex activities are more prone to it.
His now-deleted tweet reads, “Chickenpox is less severe and is airborne. Monkeypox is sexually transmitted, usually M to M.“
Many netizens saw the host’s statement as misinformed and dangerous, as it caused confusion and stigma.
Renz shared a screenshot of Atienza’s original tweet.
deleted but i’m keeping this here so you can learn your lesson @kuyakim_atienza ems pic.twitter.com/f13i4Jwjsi
— renz evangelista (@renzistweeting) July 30, 2022
“Kuya Kim, this was very irresponsible,” said Patrick, while promoting a music album he claimed would “cancel” the host’s apparent homophobia.
.@kuyakim_atienza, this was very irresponsible.
To atone for this reckless remark, please stream the gay album #RENAISSANCE and buy it on iTunes. This will cancel your homophobia. It’s like PEMDAS or sumthing. You have 24 hours. https://t.co/Bbdtcvjotq
— ْ (@kaypatricktayo) July 30, 2022
A Twitter user called out the host for spreading misinformation and causing stigma to the LGBTQIA+ community.
“OMG kuya Kim! man of trivia k p nmn pro ung ganitong info…anong meron s M2M sexual contact at doon prone to get the virus?? this misinformation is ridiculous! so what will this cause the LGBT community? mas lalo kming pandidirihan ng society.
“(What happened there, Kuya Kim? This tweet is very unbecoming for a so-called man of trivia. What’s with M2M contact that makes people prone to getting the virus? People will taunt us more because of this)!.”
https://twitter.com/calamba_milker/status/1553213438733996032
Chryss, meanwhile, could not believe the TV host may be a homophobe.
“Kuya Kim? Homophobic? What a shocker”
https://twitter.com/chrysszxcv/status/1553202669250289664
Marky used a tweet by ABS-CBN’s resident meteorologist, Ariel Rojas, to seemingly lecture the Kapuso TV host on how to use social media appropriately.
Kuya Kim vs Ariel Rojas. Choose the more credible weather guy.
GMA vs ABS-CBN pic.twitter.com/SckTaqWwzG— Marky (@MarkyFul) July 30, 2022
“Kuya Kim vs Ariel Rojas. Choose the more credible weather guy. GMA vs ABS-CBN,” his tweet reads.
Some netizens, however, noted that the tweets do not necessarily tell who is the better weatherman between the two. Atienza previously served as TV Patrol’s weatherman before moving to GMA Network. Unlike Rojas, however, the TV host is not a meteorologist.
Following the backlash, and a few failed attempts to justify his tweet, Atienza offered an apology and admitted the lapses in his tweet.
My deepest apologies to those that were affected by my tweet.
Some of the things I said were ambiguous and caused a lot of hurt especially to members of the LGBTQ community.
You are correct Monkeypox is sexually transmitted but also by non sexual close contact. It not an STD.— kim atienza (@kuyakim_atienza) July 30, 2022
“My deepest apologies to those that were affected by my tweet. Some of the things I said were ambiguous and caused a lot of hurt especially to members of the LGBTQ community. You are correct Monkeypox is sexually transmitted but also by non sexual close contact. It not an STD,” his tweet reads.
The Philippines recently recorded its first monkeypox case.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease, “Monkeypox is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or with material contaminated with the virus. Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding..”
