Did KaladKaren just throw shade at GMA’s AI sportscasters?

KaladKaren. Image: Screengrab from YouTube/News5Everywhere

KaladKaren sent netizens abuzz when she appeared to throw shade at GMA Network’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) in sports broadcasting, then she called out a basher for misgendering her.

In a video captured by one @justbbangkyu on X (formerly Twitter), the actress-TV personality ended her spiel in TV5’s “Frontline Pilipinas” newscast on Monday, September 25, by saying that she is not an AI — which some netizens interpreted as a dig at the Kapuso channel’s launch of its AI-generated sportscasters, Maia and Marco.

“And that’s it this Monday. Abangan po bukas ang mas maiinit pang k-alaman at showbiz balita. Hindi po ‘to AI, ako po si Kaladkaren (And that’s it for this Monday. Stay tuned tomorrow for hotter updates and showbiz news. This is not AI, I’m Kaladkaren),” Kaladkaren said.

LOUDER GHURL, MS. @jervijervi! 🤩🙌 pic.twitter.com/Ia9O5uxUCx

— carljun ✨ (@justbbangkyu) September 25, 2023

A separate video also showed KaladKaren doing a robot dance when fellow anchor, TV5 sportscaster Mikee Reyes joked that somebody should pinch her to make sure that she is a real person and not an AI. “Totoong tao po ako, mga Kapatid (I’m a real person, my brothers and sisters),” she said as another anchor, Gretchen Ho lightly inched her arm.

SLAY THESE #FrontlinePilipinas ACHORS, @jervijervi & Tito Mikee. 🤩🙌 pic.twitter.com/5VkxZkfIUg

— carljun ✨ (@justbbangkyu) September 25, 2023

The videos made the rounds of social media, and Kaladkaren even shared these on her X account.

Screenshot of Kaladkaren’s X account

However, a GMA fan account going by the username @KapusoThingsPH commented, “He thought he did something,” which Kaladkaren considered an attempt at misgendering her.

“You think you can put me down by misgendering me? Gurl, I have fought and won battles worse than this. Mahiya ka (Be ashamed) @KapusoThingsPH,” she wrote.

You think you can put me down by misgendering me? Gurl, I have fought and won battles worse than this. Mahiya ka @KapusoThingsPH pic.twitter.com/5jihEo3LER

— KaladKaren (@jervijervi) September 25, 2023

The X user’s account has been set on private, as of this writing.

Over the weekend, GMA debuted its AI-generated sportscasters Maia and Marco to assist in the reporting of the NCAA Season 99 men’s basketball tournament, which drew flak from netizens, journalists, and media advocates on social media.

Despite the backlash, the network stood firm on its recent move, saying they’re merely “AI presenters,” and would not replace real journalists. EDV