‘Eat Bulaga’s’ Joey de Leon apologizes for depression comments

Joey De Leon via Instagram (@AngPoetNyo)

“Eat Bulaga” host Joey de Leon retracted his comments on depression as “gawa-gawa lang” (just made up).

In the noontime show aired Friday, De Leon explained that he thought stress and depression were of equal footing. “Wag niyong asahan na alam ko ang lahat ng bagay sa mundo. Habang natututo po tayo, eh natututo tayo ng mga bagong bagay-bagay (Don’t expect that I know everything in this world. We learn new things as we go along),” De Leon said.

He also mentioned that he realized he was wrong after his wife, Eileen, scolded him about his comments, with her and their children teaching him about the matter.

“Lalo po akong nahiya sa sarili ko nang banggitin ni Eileen na may mga malalapit kaming mahal sa buhay na nagdurusa sa ganoong kalagayan (The more I felt ashamed when Eileen mentioned that we have loved ones close to us who suffer from this mood disorder),” he said.

“Ako po’y humihingi po ng paumanhin sa mga napaitan at humihingi ng inyong unawa (I apologize to those who felt upset and ask for your understanding),” De Leon added. He revealed that he called to apologize to fellow host Maine Mendoza, who defended that depression is a serious matter.

“Kung may maidudulot mang mabuti yung aking pagkakamali, eh sana’y mabuksan ito ng maraming pinto sa pagtalakay sa issue na ‘to. Hindi ko alam na ganun kalawakan pala ‘yun (If there’s something good arising from my fault, it should be the opening of doors toward the tackling of this issue. I didn’t know that this covers a wide spectrum),” he remarked.

Netizens were irked by De Leon’s dismissal of depression, in reference to the show segment “Juan for All, All for Juan” contestant’s mother who was diagnosed with the disorder.

Depression, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association, is a “common and serious mental illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act.” It is estimated that one in 15 adults are diagnosed every year with it, while one in six people will experience it in their life.  /ra