Robin Padilla under fire for remark to single mom PGT contestant: ‘Kailangan mo pa rin ng lalake’

Image: Facebook/@robinpadilla.official

Robin Padilla finds himself in hot water once more after he made a remark towards a “Pilipinas Got Talent” contestant last Sunday, April 1, which was deemed by critics as sexist and misogynistic.

The contestant is Kristel de Catalina, a single mother who treated the judges to a jaw-dropping performance with the use of a spiral pole. Catalina was praised by the judges, with Angel Locsin calling her one of the toughest to beat in the competition.

“Ikaw ang pinakamabigat na makakalaban ng contestants ng PGT,” said Locsin breathlessly. “Kailangan talaga nila mag level up para makatapat sayo. Sobrang wow.”

(You are the toughest contestant to beat in PGT. They really need to level up. You are overwhelming.)

“Umpisa pa lang solb na ko sayo eh,” Robin said at first. “Alam mo di ako natakot sa lahat ng ginawa mo wala akong naramdamang takot kasi alam kong kayang kaya mo. Perfect yung [form] mo, precision.”

(I’ve liked [your performance] from the start. I wasn’t scared at all by everything you did, because I know you can really do it. Your form is perfect, you’ve got precision.)

Vice Ganda, too, was all praise for the single mom, saying the competition was over. “Tapos na. Tapos na, diba? Thank you so much because you saved the night,” gushed Vice Ganda. “Wala. Lampaso yung kalaban. Nilampaso mo yung kalaban.”

(It’s over. It’s over, right? Thank you so much because you saved the night. You’ve swept away the competition and your competitors.)

“Lalong nagpaganda pa yung simbolismo nung ginagawa mo, yung simbolismo na ginagawa mo na pinapakita mo sa buong mondo na ikaw ay isang solo parent. Ikaw ay isang babae at ang isang babae ay kayang umangat at magningning kahit nag-iisa,” continued Vice Ganda.

(The symbolism of what you did all the more made things beautiful, how you are showing the whole world that you are a single parent. You are a woman, and a woman can rise above and shine although alone.)

It was at this crucial moment, however, when Padilla interrupted Vice Ganda and loudly said into the mic, “Pero kailangan mo pa rin ng lalake!”

(But you still need a man.)

The original video in the “Pilipinas Got Talent” YouTube account cuts right intoPadilla’s comment, but a netizen with the username “TaLeNT” uploaded the video yesterday including Padilla’s remark. It is also up on www.iwantv.com.ph for the watching.

As of this writing, a lot of netizens have taken their disappointment to Twitter, with some calling out Padilla’s “misogyny,” “sexism” and “fragile masculinity.”

“Can we all agree how garbage Robin Padilla consistently have been in PGT? His misogyny, sexism, and bigotry should have no place in Philippine TV,” wrote Kent (Immanuel Kent, @KentKerbyy) last April 1. “Oh well, we’ve never been progressive anyway.”

Another netizen Edward (@EdwardXCIV) also expressed his disgust, as he wrote on the same day, “Vice was praising the female contestant on how she was a model of the strength of single moms who don’t need men to shine. Then here comes Robin Padilla saying, ‘kailangan mo pa rin ng lalaki.’ Cancer. You’re disgusting.”

He then followed his tweet with, “Robin Padilla at it again with his fragile masculinity.”

“Robin Padilla at it again. Inserting the phrase ‘pero kailangan mo pa rin ng lalake’ to a single mom who can and will always handle herself,” added Twitter user Bee Manejar (@beemanejar). “She doesn’t need a man to be talented and be a good mom as well. Smh [shaking my head].”

The clip of Padilla’s remark to Catalina can be watched below. JB

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