Photo of Joey De Leon via his Instagram (@AngPoetNyo)
Comedian and television host Joey de Leon admitted on national television on Friday that he was reprimanded by his wife Eileen and children when he got home following that unsolicited comments he said about depression last Thursday.
“Pinagalitan ako ng misis ko, si Eileen. Pag-uwi ko, oo pinaglitan ako, pinaliwanag niya at pati yung mga anak namin, sinabi, ‘daddy, hindi stress yan at depression.’ Hindi, yun ang alam ko e. ‘Yung iba ‘pag nawalan lang ng boyfriend nadedepress na,” he said.
(I was reprimanded by my wife, Eileen. When I got home—yes, I got reprimanded—she explained, including our children, and said, ‘Daddy, stress and depression are not the same thing.’ No, that’s what I knew. Others get depressed just by breaking up with their boyfriend.)
This development came after De Leon apologized to all those who were angered by his statement, saying he was lectured by his wife on what depression is and that some of their loved ones are affected by the illness.
READ: ‘Eat Bulaga’s’ Joey de Leon apologizes for depression comments
During Eat Bulaga’s “All for Juan, Juan for All” segment, De Leon issued his apology.
“Lalo akong nahiya sa sarili ko nang banggitin ni Eileen na may mga malalapit kaming mga mahal sa buhay na nagdurusa sa ganung kalagayan. So ako’y humihingi po ng paumanhin sa mga napaitan, sa nabanggit ko, at humihingi ng inyong unawa,” De Leon said.
(I became more ashamed of myself when Eileen said that some of our loved ones are suffering from this condition. So I apologize to all those who were insulted of my words and I seek for your understanding.)
In its Thursday’s segment, the Eat Bulaga host dismissed depression as something merely “made-up by people” after the contestant said her mother was suffering from the condition.
“Yung depression, gawa-gawa lang ng mga tao iyan. Gawa nila sa sarili nila,” De Leon said.
(Depression is just something made up by people themselves. They do it to themselves.)
In his apology, De Leon explained that he had taken the word very lightly and associated it with simple stress until he made his remarks on air.
“Dala po ng gulo at tuksuhan namin, naging mababaw lang at magaang lang tanggap ng inyong lingkod sa salitang iyan. Hanggang nabanggit ko nga yung ‘wala, gawa-gawa lang yan ng ibang tao.’ Yun kasi ang paniniwala ko, na ang stress at depression halos magkapantay lamang,” he said.
(Brought about by our teasing and bantering, I took depression very lightly. Until I said that it was ‘just something made up by people.’ That was my belief: that depression and stress are just the same.)
The comedian said he had apologized Thursday night to co-host Maine Mendoza, who stood her ground during the show and maintained that depression was “not something to joke about.”
“So medyo nakaluwag yung paghinga ko, hirap nga ako matulog hanggang hindi umaabot itong pagkakataon na ‘to,” he added.
(So I was relieved; I actually had a hard time sleeping until this opportunity to apologize came.)
If there was something good that would come out of his mistake, De Leon hoped that it would open more doors to discuss the often-misunderstood illness.
“At may kasabihan naman tayo na ‘mapait man ang ugat ng karunungan o edukasyon, karaniwan naman ay matamis ang ibinubunga nito,’” he noted.
(We have a saying that the “root of education may be bitter, its fruit would usually be sweet.”) /jpv