“Funny, I had someone else in mind… #relaxduterte”
This was what American Téa Leoni has to say following the uproar that her show “Madam Secretary” had caused due to its portrayal of the Philippine President, which the country’s embassy in Washington protested as “highly negative.”
READ: ‘Madam Secretary’ episode on PH president provokes SocMed war
In the upcoming episode of the CBS political drama, Leoni, who plays the titular character of US Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord, punched the Philippines’ “unconventional new president” Datu Andrada in the face after making sexual advances on her during a closed-door meeting.
The Philippine Embassy in Washington asked CBS to make “necessary corrective actions” on the episode, saying the portrayal “tarnishes the Philippines’ longstanding advocacy for women’s rights and gender equality.”
READ: PH slams ‘highly negative portrayal’ of President in US TV series
Malacañang, the Philippine presidential palace, said the people behind the show were “confusing their images” and should have used a fictional US President instead, in an apparent dig at Donald Trump.
In her official Twitter account, Leoni retweeted a Mashable article titled “People are furious that ‘Madam Secretary’ will feature a lecherous Filipino president” and added that she “had someone else in mind.”
The actress also used the hashtag #relaxduterte.
The episode will air Sunday night in the United States and locally on March 16 over Sony Channel at 8:50 p.m. YG