Kris Lawrence. Image: Instagram/@imkrislawrence
Kris Lawrence stood firm on his remarks about Alex Gonzaga’s icing-smearing incident with a waiter, asserting that he made such comment in an effort to “defuse the situation.”
The R&B singer earlier chimed in on the issue and noted how the waiter would “probably get something” and “be grateful” after what happened.
Lawrence reiterated that he is not condoning Gonzaga’s actions but that in his point of view, the actress-TV host was just “trying to have a good time” when she smeared icing on the waiter’s face. He added that Gonzaga might have wanted to include the waiter in the fun hence her gesture, as per a video on his Instagram page on Thursday, Jan. 19.
“People make mistakes, nobody’s perfect. And when someone makes mistakes, I don’t think the first thing you should do is demonize them and be so quick to judge and call them names,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence pointed out how he hates bullying, being a victim of such himself, which prompted him to leave a comment on a social media post about Gonzaga.
“‘Most recognition he ever got as a waiter’ — I could totally see how that was taken out of context but I still stick by it,” he said of his remark, explaining how he considers the support the waiter got as “recognition.”
“Sad to say it had to happen like that, but at least today, he woke up to a whole bunch of messages of love,” he continued. “That’s all I meant by that statement.”
Lawrence also maintained that he believes the waiter will eventually “be grateful” for what happened once the noise subsides. He then spoke about how the bashing he got over his comments affected him and initially left him unable to function.
“Masakit—kahit sabihin mo na ‘wag pansinin, masakit talaga magbasa ng mga bashing comments,” he stated. (It hurts. Even when [I] try to ignore it, it still hurts to read bashing comments.)
“Guys, next time think before you type. I know you’re gonna say that about me but hey, that’s my opinion and honestly, I was just trying to defuse the situation,” he added. “Stop the cyberbullying, stop the bashing.”
Days after the icing-smearing incident, Peter Ledesma, the publicist of the Gonzaga family, clarified that the waiter is a “friend” of the actress’ mom, Pinty Gonzaga. Alex later issued a public apology and regarded the incident as a “hard and important lesson [in] humility, kindness and better judgment.” /ra