Vice Ganda has retracted his apology to Axel, a guest on the ‘Expecially For You’ segment, following a controversial incident where Axel attempted to kiss his ex-girlfriend Christine without her consent during the show.
The incident, which aired on May 31, saw Vice Ganda immediately reprimanding Axel for his actions, emphasizing the importance of consent. The clip quickly went viral, drawing widespread attention and criticism towards Axel.
Christine later posted on TikTok, stating that she was not offended by Axel’s actions. In response, Vice Ganda initially issued an apology on his Twitter (now X) account, acknowledging that he might have misinterpreted Christine’s reaction: “Sorry na mali ang reaction ko. Ang dating kasi sakin at sa ibang andun eh na-off si girl na sinunggaban sya ng halik and I thought na she felt violated. Since hindi naman pala I will apologize to the guy.”
However, on June 4, Vice Ganda retracted this apology. After discussing the incident with his co-hosts, staff, a psychologist, and reaching out to both Christine and Axel, Vice stated that his initial reaction was justified.
“Binabawi ko yung twineet ko na I will say an apology because I do not need to apologize for what I did,” Vice said. “Ito ang aking paniniwala, at paniniwala din namin na hindi kinakailangang mag-apologize because what we did was right.”
Vice explained that Christine had admitted feeling uncomfortable during the incident, although she initially said otherwise on TikTok. “Talagang na-off siya at may naramdaman siyang hindi siya kumportable sa ginawa nung searchee,” he said.
He stressed the importance of respecting personal boundaries and the responsibility of the show’s hosts to address such situations. “At since na-off si Christine, naniniwala ako na hindi mali na kinolout namin si Axel dahil karapatan ng isang babae na tumanggi o umalma kung para sa kanya, sa pakiwari niya ay hindi siya kumportable sa ikikilos ng sinuman sa harapan niya,” Vice stated.
Vice Ganda also requested that the public refrain from bashing Axel, acknowledging that Axel understood the situation and learned from it. “Nauunawaan niya po yung nangyari. Kinapupulutan niya ng aral. Yun ang maganda po kay Axel,” he added.
