On October 24, a 55-second TikTok clip of comedian Brenda Mage and artist Eian Rances’ conversation within the Pinoy Big Brother Kumunity Season 10′s boy’s room circled on social media after the comedian made an inappropriate joke towards the young artist.
The clip shows a Kumu live stream of PBB: Season 10 with Brenda and Eian talking about instances of them getting drunk. The conversation made an inappropriate turn when Brenda remarked, “Paano ‘pag nag-inuman tayo ‘tapos paggising mo, hawak ko na, lasing ka?” Eian answered, “Huwag naman ganun.”
Brenda pressed on with his questioning, with Eian continuously declining the comedian’s inappropriate joke in a conversational tone.
“Hawak mo na, anong tuloy o tigil?!” said Eian.
“Kaya nga, hawak ko na. Tuloy o tigil?” Brenda pressed on.
“Huwag kang ganun, masama yun kasi… hindi lang sa akin huwag mong gagawin yun,” Eian responded.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E90MqItHM68
Although they were innocently presenting hypotheticals, Brenda’s borderline aggressive line of questioning almost felt like harassment to onlookers. Understandably, netizens called out Brenda’s behavior and urged PBB to take action.
Wait lang nandidiri ako sa mga pinagsasani ni Brenda Mage towards Eian. What if daw nalasing sila tas pagka gising hinawakan raw ni Brenda nota ni Eian. Tuloy ba raw or tigil. Jusko ka nakakagigil.
— jap | js1 is coming!!!! (@jmajimakchoreom) October 23, 2021
totoo to and hindi lang yan. paulit ulit nga at talagang nag-aask siya. eto may nahanap akong clip sa mismong yan https://t.co/OIoQbrHpyW pero meron pang isa, andun pa madam non. well, napagalitan na siya ni kuya at "nagsorry" na daw siya kasi sabi ni kuya. nautusan lang
— dot. (@bluewhitegold) October 26, 2021
Puro mga sexual jokes na ginagawa ni Brenda Mage sa PBB, and one more thing, bawal yan gawin sex educational topics yan sa TV lalo na sa istasyon ni Bro. Eddie Villanueva na A2Z na umeere ang PBB Kumunity Season 10 also.
— Paolo Mendoza (@ImPaoloMendoza) October 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/STFUlancee/status/1452699353248714752
https://twitter.com/bnscso/status/1452670557619507201
https://twitter.com/1MGZR/status/1452565423082250246
Kuya, walang aksyon sa ginawa si Brenda Mage kay Eian? I normalize lang natin lahat???
— d a v i d o s k i (@hu1_SwiSh) October 25, 2021
https://twitter.com/szam_szam/status/1452114564007428098
Finally watched the Brenda Mage video with Eian… I felt so uncomfortable wtf
— Angel Clevenot-Podlesnykh (@volleyangelooo) October 24, 2021
This incident in the PBB house highlighted the dangers of making inappropriate jokes verging on sexual harassment. Not just in the LGBTQIA+ community but all genders. Hopefully, Brenda’s inappropriate joke can help remind everyone that it is never right to take advantage of people who cannot properly consent.
As for PBB showrunners, this incident presents a learning and teaching opportunity for everyone, regardless of gender, to engage in healthy and safe conversations wherein people value consent in all social relationships.
PBB now faces a challenge in creating a productive dialogue to address this issue and change this unhealthy culture in the country. Force evicting Brenda Mage without safely talking about his inappropriate joke and why it happened would lead to half-measures and unresolved issues for both the show and the individual.
Hopefully, PBB can safely talk to Brenda and help him understand the impact of his inappropriate joke. So, in turn, they can help him be more sensitive to others as a person.
